Under the Covers
by Locked Myself Up in a Room
Summary: Sequel to Undercover, a SasoDei story. Deidara was undercover as Naruko, but now Sasori knows the truth. And Sasori is angry. But unfortunately for him, Deidara can't leave him alone - Deidara is Sasori's probation officer. Sasori isn't the only one angry with Deidara either, who is stalking him? Rated M for lemon.
1. Chapter 1

"You," Sasori finally manages to say something, although he's practically purple in the face from the effort.

Deidara clears his throat again, not sure how to respond to that. He feels awkward too, being back here at Sasori's place. Things are different now, it's as though they were put in an alternate universe, placed in some other dimension of time and space. Deidara is in his police uniform, right arm still in a sling as it heals from his gunshot wound. His blonde hair is tied in a half ponytail up on his head, the way he likes it, not in those ridiculous piggy tails that Naruko prefers. For the first time since they've known each other, Deidara is standing here in front of Sasori as himself, and not under the pretext of a college aged girl. It's refreshing, in a sense, for Deidara to realize this.

On that same note, however, Sasori is clearly unenthused with the fact that Deidara is his probation officer. Deidara expected this reaction, but seeing Sasori enraged like this still makes his heartbeat race and his face flush. He's trying his best to stay composed, and not fall to the ground and beg for forgiveness. He knows this isn't fair to Sasori…and maybe it's cruel…but he requested for this, pleaded with Tsunade to become Sasori's probation officer.

It was about 5 weeks ago, when Deidara was still in the hospital, that he requested to transfer divisions. Tsunade understood and in fact, she wasn't surprised at all, "I figured as much," she said, "besides, with that arm of yours, you'll have to do something less risky for a while anyways while it heals. I have the perfect assignment for you too."

"Really?" Deidara had perked up in his hospital bed, eager to hear her news.

"The trials for everyone involved in this case will be coming up within the week. Due to the circumstances, the members who were blackmailed will most likely be let off the hook easy. They'll get a month or two of jail time, and then probation. We're already low staff on probation officers, and there will be at least 7 felons all in need of a probation officer in a month or so. What do you say?" Tsunade had offered.

Deidara's heart jumped to his throat and his hands became sweaty, "C-Can I be Sasori's probation officer?"

"The one you were pretending to be in a relationship with for this case? I don't think that's appropriate."

"Please Tsunade! You know me, I'm professional, that won't matter!" Deidara asked with wide puppy-dog eyes.

"I know it's alright with you, but what about for him? Don't you think it would be a little cruel for him to see the man he thought was a woman for the past few months as his probation officer?" Tsunade brought up a good point, and Deidara seriously considered this for a moment.

But in the end, he was selfish. He had to know how Sasori felt about him, had to continue watching over him, and making sure he was alright. He knew he might kick himself after making the decision, but he did it anyway. He was a fool, a fool who fell for a cute redheaded art nerd in school. And he couldn't let it go. "He'll be fine Tsunade, I promise un. He'll have time to get over things in jail anyways."

She had raised an eyebrow up at him, "Why are you so eager to be his probation officer? Don't tell me you fell for him?"

"No," Deidara waved his hands in front of his face, forcing that notion out of her mind, "I just…want to see this one through, you know? And since I already know him, it will be easy to tell if he's violating his probation. I think he might be more comfortable if it's me. These guys aren't real criminals here, remember? They were blackmailed hm. They're all gonna be scared going in to jail and then terrified by the thought of a cop checking in on their every move."

Tsunade thought this over for a while, mulling it in her strategic brain before finally saying, "Alright, you got me there. I'll give you Sasori. And while I'm at it, you'll probably take on a few others from this case as well, you brought up a good point about them being scared about the whole ordeal. I think that's a good observation."

"Thank you un!" Deidara nearly cried tears of happiness at his new assignment.

He was released from the hospital a few days later, and he heard that Sasori's trial had already passed, and that Sasori was in a jail for a month before his probation. He was crestfallen to know that he had missed an opportunity to speak with Sasori before he went to jail. He knew Sasori probably harbored some spiteful thoughts towards him, and he wanted to make up for that. The only way he knew how to do that was to write him a letter.

Deidara spent nearly a whole day writing that letter. It explained everything to Sasori – how regretful he was to have hurt him, how sorry he was, and most importantly, that his feelings weren't a lie. He snuck the letter to one of the security guards that worked at the jail house, someone he trusted would get it to Sasori.

After that, all he had to do was wait. He waited a month, training and learning the ropes of probation in that time. He allowed his arm to heal as best as it could. He poured himself into his work, trying to help pass the time quickly.

And now he stands here, feeling totally unprepared under Sasori's glare.

"Well, come on in," Sasori finally says, voice laced with ice.

Deidara steps through the threshold cautiously, struck with déjà vu of the last time he was here. "Right," Deidara says. His voice sounds faint and hollow, so he tries again, "Sasori. I do need to do my job, but…I'd like to talk with you as well. Did you read my letter?"

"No. I tore it up," Sasori says harshly. His arms are crossed, and he looks absolutely pissed.

Deidara's heart thrums uncomfortably. He ripped it up? Deidara spent so long writing out that thoughtful letter, and this guy didn't even bother to read it? His aghast look of surprise must have betrayed him, because Sasori added in, "Don't give me that look. You're the one in the wrong here. You're the one who lied to me. I have no desire to talk about it further, just do your inspection and leave me be please."

Deidara clutches his chest. It physically hurts, hearing these words from Sasori. It's a stab straight through his heart. But somehow, he deserves this. It's true – he did lie. And apparently, he hurt Sasori a lot more than he had thought.

Deidara walks around the home glumly, hands shaking slightly as he looks the place over and checks for anything suspicious. Of course, there's nothing. Sasori's place is as clean as a whistle. Sasori watches him with narrowed, distrusting eyes as he scopes the place out.

Deidara finds his way back to the door when he's finished, and he pauses and looks back at Sasori. "I really am sorry," he says, "I wish you had read the letter…"

"It's too late for all that," Sasori says curtly.

Deidara gulps, trying to rid himself of the lump in his throat. "I – I"

"You were doing your job. I get it. You were undercover. I understand. You don't have to feel so guilty over me," Sasori says briskly, stepping forward in an attempt to shoo Deidara out of his home.

But that wasn't what Deidara was going to say. What he wanted to say was "I really do like you. I did fall for you Sasori." Well, something along those lines. But the words got caught in his throat. He isn't sure if this is the right time to confess his true feelings. If Sasori ripped up his letter, then he obviously doesn't want to hear Deidara's apologies or his thoughts…he's still angry, too angry to listen and forgive him.

Perhaps Deidara doesn't deserve forgiveness. Whatever the two of them had is surely over now anyways. But he was searching for closure, at the very least. There's so much he wants to tell Sasori, so much he wants to do to make up for his lies…but he's still stuck, rooted on the spot like a toy soldier, hand outstretched towards the door and his eyes plastered on those sad, spiteful eyes of Sasori. Those brown eyes don't trust Deidara, not one bit.

So Deidara nods and then hands Sasori a list of regulations. It details his curfew hours as well as areas he's allowed in, and what times. He goes over it in a rush and then leaves. Cold sweat forms over Deidara's brow as he walks back to the car. By the time he sits in the car seat, he's panting for breath, and clutching his chest again.

That was surely difficult. A lot more challenging than he had anticipated. Perhaps Tsunade was right, Sasori is reluctant to have Deidara as his probation officer…and since Deidara still has feelings for Sasori, things will only get stickier from here…oh boy, what had he gotten himself into?

….

"Jeez, I haven't seen you like this in a long time," Tenten says, rubbing Deidara on his back.

After his shift that day, Deidara went out for a drink with Tenten. He's now two drinks in, but still feeling as horrible as he did when he left Sasori's home earlier that day.

"I'm a terrible person Tenten," Deidara groans and takes another long gulp of his beer.

"You are not. You were doing your job," Tenten says comfortingly, "you never knew you would fall for him. You can't help your feelings."

"I don't want them," Deidara complains.

"You don't want your feelings?" Tenten asks with a raised eyebrow. Deidara nods and takes another sip. Tenten starts laughing at him. "Oh Deidara, try to cheer up. He just needs some time. He's still getting over the shock of it all."

"I put him in jail," Deidara says.

"Yeah, you did your job. This isn't all your fault, he's the one that was involved with selling drugs, and there's no denying that's illegal. He can't just put all the blame towards you," Tenten says.

Deidara groans and leans his head on the table, still feeling down. Tenten continues, "You shielded him from a bullet, I'm not sure what else he wants from you."

Deidara lifts his head up a little, "Yeah…but he still doesn't know that I really like him un…he ripped up the letter I sent him in jail…I thought he had read it, and that we could have a conversation about everything…I looked like an idiot at his place un."

"So tell him how you feel," Tenten says, as if it's that simple.

"I can't just confess my feelings to him like that un. It's complicated," Deidara says.

"It's only complicated if you make it so," Tenten says, "you guys just need to sit down and talk through everything. I'm sure he has a lot he wants to say to you too."

"He said he doesn't want to talk un," Deidara reminds her.

"He was surprised to see you as his probation officer. He wasn't prepared for that. I'm sure he'll want to discuss things next time," Tenten tells him.

/

"I don't ever want to talk to him," Sasori grumbles.

Itachi rolls his eyes at him, "Sure you do. You still like him, don't you?" They are sitting on a bench on campus, both arrived early before their summer classes started so they could catch up.

"I – I don't know," Sasori admits. His feelings are very muddled these days. Sometimes he wishes he could go back to holding Deidara's hand and taking him out on exciting dates…but then he remembers that it was Naruko he was taking out…or so he thought. Then this feeling of pure hatred rises up within him, and he wants nothing more than to smack Deidara in the face. It's all very confusing.

"All I know is, I can't stand to listen to him. I don't want to listen to some apology that he gives me out of pity," Sasori says.

"Are you that scared?"

"Scared? Of what?" Sasori turns to look at Itachi, wearing a puzzled expression.

"Are you scared to know what his true feelings towards you are? If he doesn't like you, then that would be devastating, wouldn't it? But if he does…that would be troublesome as well. Am I right?" Itachi asks.

Sasori turns his face away. Damn Itachi! How can he see into people's thoughts so clearly? "I just don't want to ever see him again! My life would be better without him! Why couldn't I get officer Kakashi as my probation officer like you?"

Itachi shrugs, "He's alright. Kinda lazy."

"I'd rather have a lazy officer than Deidara…I'd rather have anyone else," Sasori complains. He groans again, desperate to change topics of conversation, "Anyways, how's Sasuke doing?"

"Good. He's glad that the real Naruko is living with him again, the two are as happy as can be. Sasuke and I had a good long talk about everything, and he understands now why I was so distant before. Things are falling back into place with our family, although it'll take some time before things are back to the way they were before," Itachi says.

Sasori sighs, "I wish it could be that easy with my family. My parents can't stand to talk to me, they haven't called or visited me once."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Itachi says, "have you tried calling them?"

"No…I wouldn't know what to say," Sasori admits. He's been thinking about it for a while now, but every time he picks up the phone, he just can't bring himself to do it. He's afraid to hear the sound of disappointment in his parents' voices.

"Your problems won't ever get resolved if you don't do anything about it. You need to talk to your parents, and you need to talk to Deidara as well," Itachi tells him.

Sasori puts his head in his hands, elbows resting on his knees, "Argh. Can we just talk about something else please?" He's sick and tired of hearing about what he should or shouldn't do in this situation. He wishes it would all just go away. He isn't ready to face any of it yet.

"Actually," Itachi lets the matter slide, and changes the subject much to Sasori's relief, "there's something I want to confide in you."

"Oh yeah?"

"I wasn't sure if I should tell Kakashi or not, but I got a note slipped under my door this morning. It said 'I'm coming for you.'" Itachi says in a hushed voice. His tone has changed, he sounds worried behind his façade of cool calmness.

"Huh? Why didn't you tell the police yet?" Sasori asks.

"It could be an empty threat. I don't know. But my gut tells me that Madara is mad…" Itachi says.

"But Madara is in prison, a sentence of like 30 years I heard," Sasori says.

"Yeah, but he has people on the outside. He has his connections, and his ways. Just be wary, ok? Have you gotten anything like that?" Itachi asks.

"No, I haven't," Sasori says.

"Hm," Itachi considers this, as if he's a detective doing an investigation.

"That's really something you should inform the cops about," Sasori says again.

"Nah," Itachi brushes it off, "I'm already on probation, I don't want the police to take up all my free time." Sasori is about to protest again when Itachi gets up, "Anyways, I don't want to be late for class. I'll see you later Sasori. Stay out of trouble."

"Same goes to you," Sasori says, crossing his arms. He's feeling sour again; He can't get Deidara off his mind, and thinking about Deidara puts him in a bad mood.

/

Deidara sighs as he heads back home after a long day at work. It's been a week since his first visit with Sasori, so inevitably, he's had to visit him again. This time, Sasori barely said a word to him. He was practically a statue – standing still in the corner, glaring at Deidara as he did a fast scope of the place. Sasori didn't even say a goodbye.

Deidara wonders if this is how it's going to be from now on – awkward, furtive glances at each other with distrusting eyes as they ignore the elephant in the room. It's probably really unhealthy, this situation that Deidara's gotten himself and Sasori into. In hindsight, he probably should've listened to Tsunade. But he was blinded by his affections for Sasori, so blinded that he didn't even consider how Sasori would feel through all of this.

Everything inside him seems to sink low as he thinks about everything. He has to make things right, one way or another. The next time he goes to Sasori's, he's going to talk to him about it all. He resolves to tell Sasori his true feelings, and also to tell him how sorry he is for all that he's done. He needs to come clean, and let the chips fall.

Deidara finally reaches his home and steps inside, feeling thoroughly exhausted. He is shocked to see a letter at the threshold, as though someone had slipped it under the door. He picks it up, reading the few simple words: "I'm coming for you."

"Hm," Deidara ponders out loud. He crumples it up and throws it in the trash. The neighborhood kids across the street often like to prank others, this must be one of their silly jokes. He doesn't find it amusing, it only adds to his irritation.

Perhaps a nice bath will calm his nerves. Baths always seem to help Deidara cool down when he's frustrated or sad.

Stripping off his police uniform is one of the best feelings for Deidara. His gun and gear weighs down on his hips, so it feels good to peel off the layers and step into the nice warm waters of the bath. He sighs audibly and lets the hot steam engulf him as he begins to relax. He leans his head back and closes his eyes.

The only problem, is that he constantly sees Sasori when his eyes are closed.

Dammit! That smug redhead had on a sharp outfit today, and he looked absolutely gorgeous. With his button up shirt and khaki pants, he was more clean cut than Deidara has ever seen him. Deidara had been itching to ask him why he was dressed like that, but the atmosphere was too tense and awkward for such a conversation. And then there was the smell – the subtle, yet exotic scent of his cologne that permeated the air. It made Deidara's mouth water the instant he stepped inside Sasori's place. There was something primitive about that smell, something that made him want to bury his head in Sasori's neck and ravish him with kisses and –

"Ah!" Deidara cries out, astonished by what he's thinking. He needs to stop this line of sinful thoughts right now!

But dammit all to hell. He's at ease in his bath, thinking these dirty thoughts about Sasori…so of course he's as hard as a rock right now. It's been a long time since he's gotten off…and now that he thinks on it, he's probably been sexually repressed for quite some time.

All those tender kisses from Sasori when he was undercover…and those two absolutely perfect dates…and that one time Sasori licked ice cream off his face…The images play fast in his mind, like a turbulent sea of pleasurable pictures.

Before Deidara knows what he's doing, he's palming himself furiously under the waters, stroking his long length and dreaming of Sasori. He grunts to himself – it isn't enough. He needs more stimulation.

Deidara hops out of the bath and covers himself with a towel, creating a rather large tent in front. He rushes into his bedroom to search for what he needs to help assuage his sexual tension. It's been so long, but he still knows where it is – he pulls out an old shoebox from under his bed, and blows off some dust from the lid.

Inside the shoebox is an assortment of sexual toys and goodies – three different bottles of lubricant, a few condoms, and the object of his desire: a dildo. Thank heavens he lives alone.

Deidara takes out the dildo and applies a generous amount of lube on it, as it has been a while. With his fingers all lubed up, he slides one in his hole carefully, leaning his body over the bed and sighing. He curses himself for doing this, but his body can't take it any longer. He needs a release, fast.

Once he's stretched himself nice and good with one finger, he inserts a second. All the while, he keeps his eyes shut, thinking about that damned sexy Sasori. He imagines that Sasori is doing this to him, with his pale, slender fingers and his ever present smirk. He imagines Sasori behind him, preparing himself to enter Deidara, one hand on Deidara's ass and the other on his own member.

Deidara is moaning quietly into his bed sheets, biting his bottom lip. He finally inserts the dildo, going slow at first. There's a familiar pinch, and then his body becomes accustomed to it again. He rocks his hips back, picking up the pace. He thinks about Sasori's dick, and wonders if it's as big as his dildo…or is it even bigger?

He blushes just thinking about it, and his hand is shaking as he moves the dildo in and out. He can hear the unpleasant squishing noises as he takes the dildo in fully, to the fake plastic balls. His other hand is now busy on his length again, stroking in rhythm with the penetration.

He soon reaches his climax, his imagination riddled with dirty thoughts of Sasori. Sweat clings to his brow, and he's panting so fast he can barely catch his breath. He wishes Sasori could really be here, doing this to him. Although there's now a rather sizeable glob of cum on the sheets, Deidara still doesn't feel satisfied. His desire for Sasori is one that can't be quenched by masturbation alone…damn that redhead! Why!

Sasori may feel like he's being punished with Deidara as his probation officer, but what he fails to realize is that this is a form of punishment to Deidara too. Deidara has to see him every week and hide his desires once more…it's going to a long, hard year.


	2. Chapter 2

"Your parents are too distraught to talk to you right now," Granny Chiyo says on the other line.

Sasori sighs, "Can you at least try? Can you give the phone to mom or dad please?"

Chiyo grumbles, "This is all your fault you know."

"I was doing all of this to save them! Did you forget that I was blackmailed, and that I received a warning that my parents would die if I tried to do anything!?" Sasori is yelling at Chiyo for the hundredth time, trying to get it into her thick skull.

"Yes Sasori, but that doesn't make up for the fact that you somehow got involved with selling drugs in the first place," Chiyo says, "and that's what hurts your parents the most. They raised you better than that."

"I did it to help a friend. Someone was already kidnapped when I joined, I didn't realize the depth of what I had gotten myself into. But enough already, can I please just speak to my parents?" Sasori is practically begging, and he hates begging.

"No, they're under a lot of stress already. Because of what you did, everyone in the neighborhood knows…they're the gossip of the town," Chiyo remarks.

"So what? Mom and dad never cared about that sort of thing," Sasori says, although, he does feel guilty about this as well. Why does his grandmother always make him feel worse?

"It's not easy being ignored and shunned by those you thought were your friends. That's what your parents are going through right now, but I guess you wouldn't understand," Chiyo says.

What Chiyo doesn't realize though, is that Sasori understands this perfectly. He sighs, feeling his voice quiver with the promise of oncoming tears, "All I wanted to do was tell them I'm sorry again."

"It's too late for that Sasori," Chiyo says bitterly before hanging up on him.

The line beeps for a few seconds before Sasori presses 'end call' and lets his emotions wash over him. He curls himself up in a ball on the couch and heaves out the tears, crying into his lap with his body shaking. It just isn't fair. His parents are safe, but at what cost? Is he never going to talk to them again?

He isn't even allowed to go visit his parents house, that's the worst part of it all. He just has to keep calling and hope that his mom or dad picks up and not Chiyo one day. With his probation, he's only allowed to a select few places, like school and the grocery store. He has a strict curfew of 8pm as well. If Deidara does a surprise visit at that time and he isn't home, he could get in a lot of trouble.

This whole ordeal totally sucks. He knows that Deidara isn't the one who enforces these laws, that there's some higher up power who made the rules like this, but he can't help but blame Deidara.

Deidara is the one who got him caught up in all of this mess. Although, Deidara did save his life when he was kidnapped by Madara…but Sasori tries not to think about that. He only saved him as part of his job, not because he cared.

There's a loud knock on the door that interrupts Sasori's crying. He quickly wipes the tears away and goes to see who it is. Of course, what impeccable timing – it's Deidara.

He opens the door slowly and tries not to look the blonde in the eye. He knows that he looks like a mess, and he hasn't let Deidara see him like this yet. He's tried his best to look sharp and together every time officer Deidara has visited before.

"Come in," Sasori croaks out before clearing his voice. He sounds raw and battered, it's pretty obvious that he's been crying.

"A-are you alright un?" Deidara asks with concern.

Sasori still doesn't look him in the eye, he turns his head away, "I'm fine, can we get this over with now?"

"Well, uh, today is a bit different than the other times," Deidara says awkwardly, "we have to do a routine drug test on you, and today is that day."

Sasori spins around, finally looking at Deidara. Damn, that uniform looks good on him, and Sasori is overwhelmed with an urge to rip it off. He shakes his head, reminding himself that this man is a liar, and doesn't deserve to even be fantasized about. "What do I have to do? Pee in a cup or some shit?" he asks harshly.

"Oh well, not here," Deidara says, as though that should be obvious, "I have to take you to the closest rehabilitation center, they'll do the drug test there. I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone, since I still need to do a routine checkup of your place. I'll do the inspection quick and then take you to the rehab center."

Sasori snorts derisively, "Great, get on with it then. Why can't I drive my own car there?"

Deidara steps inside and starts looking around, opening a few drawers and looking for anything suspicious. "Well, I thought I'd take you there the first time since you don't know where it is…" Deidara's voice fades off, as though there's something else he wants to say.

"Then I can just follow your car in my own," Sasori says.

Deidara stops his inspection and looks directly at Sasori, "I wanted to drive you, personally. I-I want to talk with you Sasori." His demeanor has changed slightly – he's no longer in 'cop mode.'

But that doesn't change Sasori's mind, "I don't want to talk. I've already been having a bad day."

"Were you crying before I got here hm?" Deidara asks.

Sasori feels a flash of anger at that question, "No," he denies, "I have seasonal allergies. Now are we ready to go or not?"

"Oh, yeah, sure," Deidara seems a little taken aback.

"I'll just ride with you, if you're so eager to take me," Sasori adds. He isn't really sure why he agrees to this torture…but there's something in the way Deidara looks at him that brings a sliver of hope…as though Deidara truly is in remorse for everything that happened between them.

/

Deidara isn't really quite sure what happened back there, what had changed Sasori's mind? Sasori was so repulsed at the idea of riding with Deidara to the rehabilitation center, and then out of the blue, he decides to ride with him.

So now, Sasori is seated in the passenger seat of his car, and Deidara is utterly speechless. Now that he has the perfect opportunity to discuss everything with him, his nerves are all jumbled up. There's a lump in his throat, and it's difficult to swallow. Why is he so nervous? It's just awkward, this situation. He isn't sure what to say.

"So how long is this gonna take?" Sasori asks, sounding bored.

"You should be out of there in 15 minutes, they just need a sample and then you'll be done," Deidara explains.

"Good. I need to study for a test I have tomorrow," Sasori grumbles.

"Oh? So, how's summer school going?" Deidara asks, trying to make small talk.

"I wouldn't have to be in summer school if I had graduated last semester. It sucks," Sasori complains.

Deidara feels his stomach turn unpleasantly, Sasori keeps making these indirect jabs at him. He can sense that Sasori is still really pissed. He clears his throat and tries again to apologize, "I really am sorry Sasori."

Sasori snorts, "Yeah right."

Deidara turns to look at him, annoyed, "This situation isn't all my fault you know. You were involved in a criminal drug gang."

Sasori laughs derisively, "Oh, so it's my fault that I got blackmailed? Jeez, you sound just like my grandmother."

"I am sorry that you're on probation now, and that you had to spend a month in jail, but isn't that better than being stuck with Madara for who knows how long?" Deidara asks.

"Ah, so you're the hero then? Is that it? It's all because of you that I got kidnapped in the first place. I was taken by him because you had to join the gang and do your little investigations," Sasori's temple is pulsing, he's too upset to listen to reason.

Deidara holds back from retorting. He knows there's no use in arguing with Sasori, it'll only incise them both more, and there's no point in that. Besides, they've just arrived at their destination.

Sasori gets out of the car as soon as it stops and mumbles, "see you in a few minutes."

Deidara sighs once he's gone, trying to calm down. Talking to Sasori is so frustrating sometimes, the redhead just won't listen when he's angry. He wonders if they'll ever be on good talking terms again. His heart aches thinking about when he was undercover, and how easy it was to speak with Sasori. He had broken through his tough wall already, but now it's been built back up, stronger than before. Getting through to Sasori isn't going to be easy.

Deidara recites what to say to Sasori as he waits. When Sasori returns, looking just as sour as before, Deidara drives them away before saying, "I didn't lie to you as much as you might think un."

"Huh, is that so?" Sasori asks sarcastically, "I seem to remember thinking that you were a transgendered woman in college named Naruko, and that you wanted to become a principal. I remember that you liked art that's fleeting, and that you were dating a man named Sasuke before you started dating me. You grew up lonely and had learned to be independent and feisty. That's the person I got to know, not the mysterious officer sitting next to me. So yeah, I'd say all of that was a lie."

Deidara feels like he was slapped in the face. Sasori really remembers all the details, he took everything to heart. But it isn't like Deidara doesn't remember either. He truly listened to all of Sasori's stories, wanted to get to know him personally…he'll never forget a word that Sasori told him, he'll never forget the way Sasori looked at him or kissed him or touched him. How could he? It had all felt so real, and the connection they had was genuine and true.

"A lot of those things I told you though, it wasn't from Naruko's perspective, those were personal things I shared about myself," Deidara starts. He wonders where to go from there, how can he explain everything? How can he tease out every lie and every truth that was told to Sasori?

"So what? Am I just supposed to forgive you for the parts that were lies? How am I supposed to know what's true about you, and what was made-up? The only part that matters is that I fell for your tricks. I trusted you, I handed my heart over to you…and you didn't give one shit about me," Sasori says, turning his face away from Deidara again.

Deidara slams on the brakes, checking to make sure that there's no cars behind him. They are back in Sasori's neighborhood, and the roads are quite deserted at this time of day. Sasori looks at him, a little startled by the car's sudden stop.

Deidara grabs his shoulder and shakes him, "Don't you get it Sasori!? I do care for you!"

Sasori pushes Deidara's hand away, "Enough lies, officer," there's ice in his voice again, "I told you before, you don't have to feel guilty over me. The pretense is over, you can stop your charade now."

"Sasori, will you just listen un!" Deidara's anger is rising again, why can't the redhead see what's clearly right in front of him? Is he in this much denial, that he can't even accept the truth now? Is he this distrusting of Deidara?

Sasori opens the car door, unbuckling his seatbelt, "I'll walk from here, thanks. I've done enough listening. I think it would be best if we carry on our duties without ever mentioning the past again. Thanks for the ride officer, I'll see you next time."

Before Deidara can protest, Sasori escapes his sight like wildfire, jumping out of the car and nearly sprinting away. Deidara bangs his hands against the steering wheel, cursing himself for letting his temper get the best of him. That definitely did not go as planned. Sasori shut him down, and denied all of Deidara's claims.

Deidara has to show Sasori that he can be trusted, that he isn't lying this time. But how on earth is he going to do that?

…..

Deidara didn't think the day could get any worse. But, he has one other stop to make before going back to the police station. Unfortunately for Deidara, he was assigned as Hidan's probation officer as well.

He wraps on the door firmly, eager to get his visit over with. Hidan answers with a cocky smile, towering over Deidara with his ominous presence, a smug look on his face. "Hey there," Hidan says smoothly, "come on in officer."

Deidara steps inside without a word, still feeling upset over his not-so-productive conversation with Sasori. He really isn't in the mood to deal with Hidan's snide remarks and passes.

"You don't look too happy, what's got your panties in a bunch?" Hidan asks.

"Let me do my job in peace please," Deidara retorts, walking around Hidan's place and searching for anything amiss.

"Is it Sasori? Do you still like him?" Hidan asks. Deidara doesn't grace him with a response to that. "Did you guys get in a fight?" The thing that annoys Deidara the most about Hidan is that he's too curious, and won't take 'no' for an answer. He also doesn't get the hint that Deidara clearly doesn't want to talk about any of this right now.

So Deidara ignores him as best as he can, but Hidan is following him around his tiny apartment like a hawk. As soon as Deidara finishes his job, Hidan blocks his way out, putting his arm up against the wall, trapping Deidara there. Man, this guy sure is gutsy.

"What hm?" Deidara asks, not so nicely.

"If that redhead continues to give you trouble, you can always find comfort here. I know plenty of ways to ease your tension," Hidan says suggestively, raising his white eyebrows up.

Deidara almost gags, "I'm gonna take a hard pass on that offer. Now move out of my way un, I'm finished here."

Hidan pulls his arm away, letting Deidara scramble out of his reach. He adds in one more comment before Deidara can leave his place, "The offer will still stand, if you're ever interested."

Deidara leaves without another word, too disgusted to look back at the slick haired skeletal man. He can feel Hidan's eyes on his ass, checking him out blatantly. Deidara's going to need a lot of willpower to not smack Hidan in the face again one of these days.

….

Drained and exhausted once more from a long day of work, Deidara stirs up his chamomile tea, hoping it will help him sleep. Although he comes home tired from work every day, he often has trouble sleeping. His mind is too preoccupied with Sasori, and it's been difficult to get a good night's rest recently. It's been like this since the undercover operation ended – he's been constantly tired and pent up and miserable. He wonders idly if things are ever going to change.

A loud, harsh bang on the door interrupts his thought process. He jolts out of his chair, spilling half his mug of tea. "Dammit!" he yells. He rushes to the door to answer it, and to give whoever is knocking a piece of his mind. Who could need him at this hour of night?

When Deidara opens the door though, there's no one there. Was this another prank from those foolish neighborhood children? He might have to have a talk with their parents. The night looks silent for a moment, but then he notices his neighbor Kiba and his dog Akamaru, out for a walk.

Akamaru looks to be in distress, as he is barking at something in Deidara's direction. Kiba is trying to calm him down, "relax Akamaru!"

"Hey Kiba," Deidara greets, "Is anything wrong? I thought I heard a knock on my door, did you see anyone hm?"

Kiba looks up at Deidara, but he's distracted by trying to ease his dog who is still barking madly, "No, I didn't see anyone…but do you mind if Akamaru checks? Looks like he's spotted something."

Deidara nods, and Kiba lets Akamaru run free, towards the bushes in Deidara's yard. Deidara looks where Akamaru is sniffing, but there's nothing there. "What is it boy?" Kiba asks, looking around in the same spot that Akamaru has his nose in.

"I don't see anything hm," Deidara says, "But I'm sure I heard a knock at my door un. I wonder if someone knocked and then hid in this bush?" He's never seen Akamaru act like this before – he looks like an aggressive dog, and he knows that Akamaru is actually a loveable hound.

"Sounds like a prank to me," Kiba says, "With the kids out for summer, this sort of thing seems to happen more often. Maybe they dare each other to prank the cop in the neighborhood." Kiba laughs it off and ushers Akamaru back to his side, "Anyways, sorry to have bothered you officer! Hope you have a nice evening!"

"Yeah…" Deidara says, not really listening, "You too." He watches as Kiba and Akamaru walk away, but his mind is racing. This doesn't seem like a prank…first the note, and now this? Something just doesn't feel right to Deidara. Is someone after him?

Deidara needs to be more careful. Sure, he's a policeman, but that doesn't mean he's target free. At any rate, if someone has a problem with him, he'd rather face them head on. Having someone sneak around the shadows like this is unnerving. He has no idea who might want to hurt him, or why.

For now, he resolves to put the extra bolt on the lock on his door tonight, and set his alarm system. He places his gun next to his bed, loaded and ready to go should there be an altercation.

Now that he's suspicious that someone is after him, he can forget about sleeping. Fear is a sure way to keep any person awake all night long.


	3. Chapter 3

Deidara feels like a zombie the next day at work as he shuffles absentmindedly through his papers. He's sitting at his desk with a dazed expression, and Kakashi comes over and waves his hand in front of Deidara. "Is anyone in there?" Kakashi asks.

"Good morning," Deidara responds, finally acknowledging Kakashi's presence.

"Have you had any sleep? You've got the biggest bags under your eyes," Kakashi notes.

"Yeah un, I realize. Just been under a lot of stress," Deidara says, not wanting to dwell on his personal life with Kakashi.

"Well, make sure you get some sleep tonight. For now though, maybe you should run down and get some coffee. But before that, I'd like to ask you a few questions."

"Sure," Deidara hopes to get this conversation over with soon. He has a mountain of paperwork he's been neglecting.

"It's about Itachi," Kakashi says, "I feel like there's something he isn't telling me. He's been quite jumpy recently when I come to inspect his place…do you think he could still be part of the business? Does he have any hideouts that I might be unaware of?"

"Not that I know of, hm," Deidara says.

"You were the one most involved in the undercover operation, and you got to know him personally," Kakashi says, as though this makes a difference.

"I interrogated him about Madara once, I wouldn't say I know him personally un," Deidara replies.

"Well, did he ever mention anything else to you that might make you suspicious of him?"

"No. If you're so suspicious, why don't you go check up on him more?" Deidara snaps back, tired of this conversation already, "What makes you think he's still in the drug business anyways?"

"Like I said…he's been acting sketchy. It's as if he's afraid of something. He asked me how often I would be coming by, and what type of weapons I usually carry," Kakashi says.

"Hm, that is a strange question to ask. I don't think he would still be involved though. He was pretty adamant on getting Madara put away, and he only joined the gang out of fear, since Madara threatened to kill his brother," Deidara points out.

"True," Kakashi says, pondering this information, "Then maybe it's something different. He and Sasori are good friends, right? Maybe you can poke around and ask Sasori about him, see if Itachi confided in him anything?"

"Um," Deidara pauses, not sure how to explain his complicated relationship with Sasori, "I'm not so sure Sasori would tell me anything un."

"Well, would it kill you to at least ask?" Kakashi asks. "I'll do my own snooping of course, but Itachi is a pretty closed mouth kind of guy. I just want to know what's got him so scared."

"Alright," Deidara says, not sure exactly why he's agreeing, "I'll try to bring it up and see what Sasori says un."

"Thanks Deidara," Kakashi says, flashing a handsome smile. "Now go and get some coffee."

But coffee is the last thing Deidara is worried about right now.

/

Sasori is eyeing the sizeable tent in his pants again, feeling thoroughly frustrated. He's masturbated several times in the past few weeks, and each time he does, Deidara pops up in his mind. He can't help but find Deidara to be extremely sexy, especially in that tight fitting police uniform…and that long blonde hair of his is to die for…as well as those luscious lips, that Sasori knows for a fact taste like sweet cherries.

"Argh!" Sasori places his head in his hands, wringing out his crimson hair. He can't do this again! He has to stop thinking about Deidara in that way – it's never going to happen.

He's sexually frustrated, that's all. He hasn't had sex in several months now, and he's been in the presence of Deidara frequently, which always seems to make his hormones go a little nuts (not that he would ever admit that to anyone in a million years). Despite the fact that Deidara lied about being Naruko, Sasori still finds him attractive. He wishes he didn't. Maybe he could get over Deidara easier if he didn't think the guy was so damn cute.

After splashing his face with water a few times, Sasori feels a little better. The tent in his pants is gone, but the frustration lingers. He's mad at himself for thinking of Deidara in a sensual way. It's these types of fantasies that betray his anger and hatred towards the man who lied to him. Why is it that his brain thinks one way and his heart another? His head and his heart don't always agree.

Recalling the last time he saw Deidara, when he left him in his car as he ran out and avoided conversation, makes his heart ache. There was a look on Deidara's face, one of pain and hurt that Sasori hasn't been able to erase from his mind since that day. He was like a wounded puppy, left abandoned by his owner.

But hell, that 'puppy' bit him one too many times to be forgiven. Deidara had seduced him as someone else, had let Sasori into his arms and allowed Sasori to trust him with all his heart. Rage still burns in Sasori's veins every time he thinks about the past with 'Naruko.'

He needs a distraction. He needs something else to occupy his mind while he gets over the painful, gnawing ache that pits in his stomach every time he looks at Deidara.

When getting over a break-up, there are only two cures that Sasori knows to conquer heartache. Either time, or a new love interest. Obviously, time won't heal this wound with Deidara, since he can't have a decent amount of time apart from the guy. The other cure, finding a new love interest, is also tricky since he isn't allowed out late at night and can only go to a few locations.

Sasori's definitely gotten himself in a pickle here. If only he could meet someone else fast, and somehow explain to them his situation…bah! It'll never work! The moment they find out that he's on probation, they'll scamper away from him like he has a disease. Ex-cons aren't exactly hot material in the dating world.

Sasori sighs. It's already 8pm, past his curfew on a Thursday night. He's been feeling cooped up in his home lately, itching to go out and do something, _anything_. Curse these probation rules!

There's only one thing he can do to ease his tension right now – create art. Sasori grabs his tools and woodblocks, making space on his table for his art. He starts by carving simple designs into his wood, not quite sure of the outcome yet.

As he works, his stress lessens, flowing out of his body as he focuses on his wood. Working with his hands feels good, natural. Peace washes over him, covering him like a warm blanket. Everything seems normal for a moment, and he can forget about all of his worries for just a few minutes.

And then a loud bang on the door makes him jump, and his heart races fast. He groans as he goes to the door, already knowing who it is that's interrupting his rare moment of peace.

Deidara smiles awkwardly at him, and Sasori's heart leaps a little in his chest, as though it's trying to jump out and hug the blonde. But Sasori's mind stops it, and Sasori scowls at Deidara instead.

"So, um," Deidara says. Although he's an authoritative figure, an officer of the law, he always seems to stumble on his words. Is he really this much of an awkward dork? Sasori can only wonder.

"Come in," Sasori says with a sigh, swinging his door open and stepping aside.

"Right, hm," Deidara says with a little more determination. He lets himself in and does a quick sweep of the place visually. "Clean, as usual. But I also came to ask you a few questions, if that's alright."

"Questions about what?" Sasori asks skeptically. Is Deidara really going to try to talk about his feelings again? Sasori can't run away this time…

"Work related things un," Deidara explains, looking extremely awkward just standing in the middle of Sasori's living room.

"Alright then," Sasori feels a little relieved, although his interest is piqued, "Take a seat." Sasori sits on his couch and Deidara takes the armchair across from him, very businesslike.

"It's about Itachi," Deidara starts, "Kakashi wanted me to ask you about him. Have you spoken to him since," Deidara gestures around with his hands, searching for the word he needs, "since your probation started?"

"Yeah, I see him at school before our classes. Why?"

"Has he been acting strange un? Kakashi seems to think that he's keeping something a secret. If he's still selling drugs, he'll be in a lot of trouble," Deidara says.

"He isn't," Sasori says, point blank.

"Well, how can you be so sure? Did he say anything to you?" Deidara wonders.

Sasori is feeling a little unnerved by these questions, how could Kakashi be suspecting Itachi of any wrongdoings? "Listen, he wouldn't do that. Itachi is a good guy."

"I know," Deidara agrees. Sasori looks up, surprised that Deidara believes him. "I only spoke to him a few times during the investigation, but my hunch tells me that he wouldn't be the type to get back into the business. But Kakashi says that he's been asking weird questions, and acting jumpy."

"Oh," Sasori just realized what must be happening.

Deidara must have noticed a look of realization on Sasori's face, "What is it? What did you just remember un?"

"He told me…well, I don't know if it's a big deal or not, but I did tell him to go to the police about it, but he didn't want to…and I don't know if I should tell you or not now…" Sasori rambles out, barely making any sense.

"Hm? What's going on? Is he in some sort of trouble?" Deidara is leaning forward at the edge of his seat, all ears.

"I don't really know," Sasori sighs, hoping Itachi won't be mad with him later for spilling the beans, "but he got this creepy note the other day that said 'I'm coming for you,' or something like that. He didn't know who it came from or what it meant exactly, but he had this suspicion that it was Madara. Crazy right?"

Deidara has an odd look on his face. He's staring off into the distance, blue eyes wide as though something just clicked. His lips are parted slightly, and he looks a little paler than usual. He doesn't say anything for a while, and Sasori starts to panic a little, "Um, officer Deidara?"

"Oh," Deidara shakes his head, "Yes. Thank you un. That was a great help, really. Now I know he isn't up to anything suspicious."

"That's all you needed?" Sasori asks as Deidara gets up and heads for the door.

"Yup. Enjoy your night in peace," Deidara says, rushing to the exit.

"Oh, um, yeah, you too," Sasori says. He isn't sure why he's feeling upset about Deidara leaving, usually he's relieved to see the blonde walk out of his place. But tonight, he feels like there's something there that Deidara isn't saying…what is he holding back? Why did he react like that to Sasori's news? He looked almost afraid…

Deidara spins around for a split second upon hearing Sasori say 'you too.' He looks at Sasori curiously, as though he's seeing him for the first time. Sasori blushes under that intense stare, and then closes the door quickly, not keen on another 'feelings' talk with Deidara.

He leans back against the door for a moment, heart racing uncontrollably. What was that all about? Why did Deidara look at him like that? And what were those questions leading to? Is Itachi really in danger?

Sasori's mind is buzzing with unanswered questions. He abandons all thoughts of working on his art pieces for the night. Nothing he can do right now could possibly distract him from all these swarming thoughts.

"Ugh," he sighs. It's going to be another long, lonely night.


	4. Chapter 4

Deidara looks back over his shoulder again, sure that he saw something. He's not just being paranoid, is he? After hearing from Sasori that Itachi is possibly being targeted by Madara, he's been overly cautious and suspicious of everyone he sees.

He relayed everything Sasori told him to Kakashi, who decided to take matters into his own hands. He placed extra security measures around Itachi's house, and placed Itachi under strict surveillance. Now Itachi has more stringent rules for his probation, in order to keep him safe. From what Kakashi said to Deidara, it seems that Itachi is quite upset about this. Deidara can't really blame him.

It would really suck to be locked down in your own place, with no way to defend yourself. In addition, Itachi is still being treated as an ex-con, he still has to abide by his probation rules.

Kakashi says that this will blow over, he's taking the threat seriously but doesn't believe anything will really happen. "It's surprising that Itachi is the only one that got a threatening letter, don't you think?" he had asked Deidara.

"Yeah un. I mean, they are related though. So maybe Madara feels like Itachi betrayed him," Deidara pointed out. He was too afraid to tell anyone in the precinct that he too had received a threat. If he did that, he might be pulled from his position as probation officer…and he too would be constantly watched. He doesn't want that, he can handle this on his own, right?

The unsettling fact about all of this is that when Kakashi went to the prison to question Madara, he came back with nothing. "Madara hasn't had any visitors since he got in prison, and he's been following orders there, hasn't acted out of line once," Kakashi had explained to Deidara, "If he's really pulling the strings outside of prison somehow, it's going to be difficult to track down. I don't see how he can have contact with anyone on the outside if he hasn't had one single visitor."

"Yeah un. That is strange…" Deidara had puzzled this over in his head countless times. If it isn't Madara, then who? Is someone else upset at Deidara and Itachi for bringing justice down on the drug lord? Did Madara have any staunch supporters who were involved that weren't taken into custody?

A fog of uncertainty and confusion swims throughout Deidara's mind constantly. Because of this, he's been trudging through work like it's thick mud, unable to motivate himself to do his routine check-ups and file his paperwork. He's getting behind with everything, and it's only a matter of time before someone notices.

He needs a break, really. But he's neck deep in paperwork, and there's no way he'd be granted time off right now. The workload is still heavy in the precinct as the officers try to clean up the streets from the remaining lure dealers. Madara's web of drug dealers stretched farther than they originally thought – there are still small time drug dealers all over the streets, some still believing they are under Madara's command.

Deidara is going to have to pull an all-nighter to catch up. He sighs as he looks at his mountain of paperwork. He gets started, ready to tune out the background noise of the office.

A few hours later, his stack of papers is significantly lessened, but there's still several hours to go before he's finished. It's already nearing midnight, the night shift policeman are on duty now. Deidara stretches for a minute, deciding he earned a 5 minute soda break.

He walks out to the vending machine, eyes drooping from sleeplessness. A large body blocks his way suddenly, and he nearly jumps out of his skin.

"Deidara!"

"Ah! Jiraiya! Don't scare me like that un!" Deidara yells, heartbeat racing fast with fear. He's jumpy around any small surprise these days.

"Jeez, you look like you've seen a ghost, did I spook you that much?" Jiraiya laughs, "Didn't mean to. Anyways, how's your arm?"

"It's good un, I haven't needed to wear my brace for two weeks now," Deidara admits, glad that his gunshot wound has finally healed.

"That's great to hear! You think you'll be back in the undercover division anytime soon? You complain a lot, but you were a great partner," Jiraiya says.

Deidara is flattered for a moment that Jiraiya thinks so highly of his detective skills, but his answer is still the same, "I don't think I'll be doing anymore undercover investigations, sorry."

"Ah, that redhead is still on your mind then?" Jiraiya asks. He was never one to beat around the bush, which is both a blessing and a curse.

Deidara turns his face away, cheeks flaming, "Th-that isn't it un."

"Oh c'mon, I won't tell anyone. I heard you're his probation officer now, that's pretty devious of you," Jiraiya says with a teasing wink.

"He's still really mad at me un," Deidara says, giving up on trying to hide his true feelings from Jiraiya. Jiraiya is really perceptive about this kind of thing (although, he tends to be blinded when it comes to hot women…).

"Well, of course he is. But it'll blow over, don't you worry," Jiraiya assures him.

"And how do you know that un?" Deidara asks, skeptical.

Jiraiya shrugs, "That's the way it works when I upset a lady. She'll eventually come running back to me."

Deidara rolls his eyes, "Anyways, I was just coming out for a break un." He makes towards the vending machine, stuffing his dollar bill in the slot.

"Hm, it's odd that you're working so late tonight, you're usually on top of your work," Jiraiya points out.

"Yeah un. I've just had a lot of stress lately," Deidara admits, pulling out his cold drink from the machine and twisting it open.

"Well, stay healthy my friend. Don't overwork yourself, if you ever need any help I'm always around," Jiraiya says, nodding his goodbye and heading back to his desk, "Oh, and fix things up with Sasori!"

"Trust me, I've tried," Deidara mumbles, more to himself than Jiraiya. He heads back to his desk, not looking forward to the rest of his paperwork.

/

Sasori hangs up the phone, feeling like crying again. His grandmother still won't budge, she just won't hand over the phone to his parents. It's extremely frustrating.

He's home alone again on a Sunday night, flipping through the channels mindlessly. He's feeling pretty down, with no one to talk to and with the thought that his parents might really be so mad at him that they'll never see him again. But he's their son…could they really ignore him forever?

"Damn you Deidara!" Sasori cries out loud, hot tears swelling at the edge of his eyes. He feels like smashing something, he's so furious. If it weren't for Deidara, his parents would still care, they would still love him.

Sasori is looking for something in his home that he can break when he hears the unmistakable knock of Deidara's fist on his door. "Dammit why now!?" Sasori yells, hoping that Deidara can actually hear him.

He doesn't bother to look presentable. He swings the door open harshly, glowering at the blonde. He wants to smack him in the face, so terribly bad. But if he does, he's sure to get arrested for assaulting an officer.

"Sasori," Deidara chokes out, stumbling on his words again, "W-what's going on un?"

Sasori's had about enough of this cutesy act from Deidara, "What's going on you ask? Oh, not much, just that my life has turned to shit! And it's all your fault!"

Deidara looks affronted, "Sasori. I actually came here to speak with you about all that. I haven't been able to get much sleep lately and – "

"And what?! Am I supposed to feel bad for you? Of course you feel guilty! That doesn't mean I should forgive you though, does it! I haven't been able to sleep either, or focus on my studies for that matter! And not that you would care, but it's extremely lonesome being cooped up at home all the time, so thanks for that. I've lost most of my friends now, no one wants to associate with a 'drug dealer' and I have no one to talk to most days! My own parents don't want to see me! And they're the reason I was selling lure in the first place! I was blackmailed with pictures of them and threats that Madara would take their life the instant I disobeyed his orders. And now they're disappointed in me! Everything was revealed to them because of you!" Sasori turns red in the face from yelling. He didn't necessarily mean to get this angry, but once he started, he couldn't stop. The words kept flowing out, and he probably said more than he meant to. But he needed to vent it out, and the only person who he cares to hear any of this is the one who hurt him. Because Deidara needs to know just how much he hurt Sasori. Sasori needs him to know.

Sasori sighs. Somehow, it felt good to get all that off his chest. He looks at Deidara, studying his reaction. Deidara is still, looking like he just got splashed in the face with cold water. He opens his mouth and then closes it several times, unsure how to respond. Finally, he says, "I don't know if you'll ever forgive me, but I hope you can at least try to understand why I did what I did un. I never wanted for you to get kidnapped, our operation team didn't even know about Yahiko's disappearance until Itachi told me. Once we found out, we did everything we could to speed up the investigation and find Madara's base. I went in on that operation because I had to make sure you were okay, and then everything happened so fast hm. It was unfair that you got kidnapped and that everything happened the way it did, and that you didn't get a proper explanation. I am sorry Sasori. But I also don't regret what I did un. I went in there to save you and Yahiko, to rescue you from that mad man. Who knows what would've happened to you?! He might have killed you un!"

Sasori's temper is rising again, "I understand why you had to investigate and rescue us. What I don't understand is why you had to date me while you were undercover! You feigned a break up with Sasuke so you could get closer to me! You even agreed to go on two dates with me! You kissed me and spoke to me in ways that no one else ever has! You made me believe that you actually liked me!"

"Sasori, I told you before un, I did fall for you!" Deidara cries, looking desperate.

"Sounds to me like you were simply confusing your duty to protect and serve with your feelings. Goodnight Deidara," Sasori slams the door closed, but Deidara catches it with his hands.

"Wait! You can't just shut me out like this hm!" Deidara yells, angered.

"Watch me," Sasori says, pushing the door the rest of the way closed and locking it. Deidara bangs on it a few times, but Sasori doesn't open it. "I have the right to privacy in my own home!" Sasori yells. He's pretty sure this isn't against the law…right? Well, whatever. Deidara won't report him.

/

"I have half a mind to report him for kicking me out like that un," Deidara says, furious.

Tenten listens, sipping on her drink, "Well, you probably should. But I know you won't. He'd get into more trouble, and you'd be fucked."

"Me?" Deidara asks.

"Yeah, because if you do something like that, then Sasori will never forgive you," Tenten explains.

Deidara sighs, knowing this to be true. "What you need is a distraction," Tenten adds.

"What do you mean?" Deidara asks, too blue to even finish his beer.

"You need a date. Why don't you talk to some guys tonight? There's a lot of cuties that come to this bar," Tenten suggests.

"Hell no," Deidara says, "I am in no mind to flirt with anyone right now, hm."

"All you have to do is sit there and look pretty, and let them buy you a drink," Tenten says.

"No," Deidara refuses. Somehow, if he did that, it would feel wrong. It would feel like he's cheating on Sasori, even though they aren't dating.

"Sasori's probably thinking the same thing right now you know," Tenten says.

"What do you mean hm?"

"He's probably figuring out how he can get over you. He's probably trying to find himself a date," Tenten says.

"Don't tell me that. I don't want to hear that kind of stuff un. I thought you were supposed to be cheering me up," Deidara says.

"I'm just being realistic. And I am trying to cheer you up, look at that cute guy over there," Tenten nods in the direction of a brunette sitting across the bar, who winks at them, "He's totally checking you out."

"Gross," Deidara says, turning away. Tenten rolls her eyes at him, "where would Sasori even find a date?" Deidara asks, still bothered by that thought.

"Oh jeez, it's just a hypothesis! Don't get hung up on it. He's probably just home alone, punching his pillow out of frustration or something," Tenten says.

This doesn't make Deidara feel any better though. He's a free man, out at the bar with his friend, able to do what he wants. But Sasori is on probation, and that means he's suffering every night by being alone with nothing to do. Deidara feels horrible. Why can't Sasori just forgive him already?!

/

Sasori is fuming, pacing back and forth in his home, trying to let off some steam. He needs that distraction, and he needs it now. Thinking about Deidara is too painful, and his heart needs a break.

Sasori might have found a solution to his Deidara problem. Might.

The problem is, he isn't really sure if he's into the idea.

He doesn't have time on his hands to get over Deidara, but what he can do is find interest in someone else. Well, maybe not real interest…but it would at least help his sexual frustration. He might even get a fun night out of it. But he's never tried anything like it before, and he's a little worried.

He also knows just the guy to ask for this sort of thing, although it's going to pain him to ask. Hidan is going to tease him relentlessly.

After pondering the idea for an hour, he finally decides to do it. Before he changes his mind, he picks up the phone and calls Hidan, hoping the bastard will answer. He does, of course. And of course, he laughs for a solid minute at Sasori's question. But, he gives Sasori the information he needs and then Sasori hangs up on him.

Good. So now he has another number to call. It's like setting up a meeting, right? A business meeting, if he's thinking about it from their perspective. He's just doing business, that's all.

...

 **Author's Note:** Hey guys, first I just want to say thanks for everyone reading this! I appreciate the support! Sorry it's another short chapter, but things will soon be heating up - sometimes things have to get worse before they can get better, unfortunately. What does Sasori have planned? Oh, he is naughty! Both boys are angry and frustrated and too stubborn to just talk normally right now. But don't fret, things will get better - they just have to get through the angst first! Hope you all enjoy!


	5. Chapter 5

Deidara is a little hung over the next morning, glad that his shift doesn't start until later that afternoon. He gets up and drinks as much water as his body will allow, eager to get over this hangover.

By the time he goes into work, he's feeling much better, and he's actually a little glad that he was able to relax and do nothing all morning. He's refreshed, and a little less stressed today. Venting his woes to Tenten really helped his mindset.

He's still upset with how the conversation with Sasori went, but he's trying to stay hopeful. Sometimes, things get worse before they start to get better. Sasori was honest with him last night, and he didn't hold anything back. It probably felt good for Sasori get all that off his chest.

Deidara hopes that after that, they can finally sit down and have a civil conversation. If he could just get Sasori to listen to everything he has to say, then maybe Sasori can begin to understand that not everything was a lie.

Deidara sets out later that evening to do his routine check-ups. He starts with Hidan's place, eager to get that out of the way.

When Hidan answers the door, he gives Deidara his usual confident smirk. "Hello there officer. Have you thought more about my offer?"

"No," Deidara says flatly, walking inside and looking around.

"Really? Even after what Sasori did?" Hidan says.

"What do you know about that hm?" Deidara asks, surprised.

"Well, he must be seriously sexually frustrated. That, or he simply wants to make you jealous," Hidan points out.

Deidara finds this to be an odd thing to say. Were they talking about the same thing here? Sasori must have told Hidan about their argument, right? But then again, why would he?

"Um, what?" Deidara asks, confused.

"Oh ho!" Hidan's smirk becomes wider, if possible, "So you don' t know then?"

"Don't know what un?" Deidara asks. It seems Hidan is enjoying this, which is quite annoying.

"I got a rather odd call from him last night," Hidan says slowly, "I couldn't really believe what he was asking me. But, I guess any man alone would get itchy, don't you think?"

"What are you saying un?" Deidara asks, wishing he would get to the point.

"I have my connections, although I myself have never indulged. I guess I never have trouble getting laid though," Hidan says, implying something that horrifies and shocks Deidara.

"What! Are you joking around with me un!? Prostitution is illegal, you know that right?" Deidara asks.

"I didn't say anything like that. All I said is that I have connections. If you want to know what he's up to, you should get a move on," Hidan says, "Or, you could just stay here longer if you'd like."

"No thanks, I'm leaving now," Deidara says.

"Aren't you going to thank me for the tip?" Hidan asks, wiggling his eyebrows.

"No," Deidara says sternly, exiting the apartment before Hidan can make another uncomfortable pass at him.

He rushes to his car, pulse pounding in his ears. Would Sasori really do such a thing? Is he really that desperate for sex? Or is this something else?

What the hell is going on!?

…..

Deidara pulls up to Sasori's house in a hurry, his head feels numb. He practically runs up to the door, and then takes a split second to compose himself. He knocks harsh on the door, signifying his 'cop presence' to Sasori.

There's a strange noise coming from inside the house, as though someone is tripping over something clumsily. Deidara taps his foot impatiently and then knocks again, feeling a little annoyed. There's a resounding giggling from inside the home, which doesn't sound like Sasori at all. Deidara's suspicions are raised and panic sweeps up his chest, he's pretty sure it sounds like a –

Woman.

The door was answered, finally, but not by Sasori. A woman, clad with thick three inch platforms, a crystal studded bra that left little to the imagination, and skin tight shorts that barely, just barely, covered her ass answered the door. "Hello there officer," she winks and then licks her vivaciously red lips seductively. Deidara looks upon her with horror, this must be a nightmare.

Sasori finally comes up behind her, placing his hands on her waist and pulling her back. She squeals with delight and asks, "Is he joining our fun tonight? I didn't know you were that saucy!"

Deidara feels his temper boiling, and there's a monstrous green beast raging inside him, desperate to get out and claw at this woman. He takes a deep breath, trying to stay professional. "Hello Sasori. I'm just here for a routine check up," he says in an even voice, directing angry fire with his eyes.

"Oh ho! He's a real cop? You didn't tell me you were a naughty boy!" the woman pokes her tongue out and licks Sasori's ear, right there in front of Deidara. Deidara nearly gags.

"Hey, calm down Jewel, go lay down somewhere. I'll be done with this in a minute," Sasori says, not even flinching at her touch. She winks at him again and saunters off towards his bedroom, sashaying her hips.

Deidara pushes his way into the house, having half a mind to shake Sasori to his senses. Is this all an act to get him jealous? If so, then Deidara won't fall for it. He can't.

But his chest feels tight, and his heart throbs uncomfortably, betraying him.

"Anyways," Deidara says after an awkward pause, clearing his throat. He holds himself back from slapping Sasori around. He gulps hard in order to push down the tears that will inevitably come later. But he can't show defeat to Sasori, not now. At the moment, he's more angry and frustrated with Sasori than hurt, although he knows that this is going to sting later.

"What?" Sasori asks back, eyebrow raised, a wide, proud smirk on his face. Deidara can't let this ploy get to him. Sasori obviously thinks he already won. "Am I not allowed to have a date over?"

"You call that a date un?" Deidara asks back, "I seriously thought you had better standards. Besides, I didn't say anything. Like I said, just here for a routine check-up hm."

"Well, I'm home, and I'm not doing anything illegal," Sasori retorts back coolly.

"I still need to inspect," Deidara says, passing by Sasori and swinging his hair back behind his shoulders. "Besides, you do know that prostitution is illegal, right un?"

"Huh, interesting comment," Sasori says, feigning innocence. Deidara narrows his eyes at him and begins his search, looking through some cabinets and sifting through drawers to make sure there's no drugs around. He already knows there won't be anything suspicious. But if he could find some link to that girl in here who's clearly here for money…

He finds nothing. There's no real way to prove that Jewel is a prostitute, so Deidara has to leave. Bile rises in his throat as he thinks of all the ways she's going to touch him and please him tonight. Sadness pulls at his heartstrings at the thought that all of this is for him, to torture and tease him and get back at him in some twisted form of revenge. Sasori is better than that, isn't he? Is he really going to go through with this?

He pauses at the door, turning to look at Sasori with pleading eyes. He's silently begging him not to do this, to at least keep some dignity. But he swallows down all the words he wants to say. He knows Sasori won't listen. "All clear," is what Deidara ends up saying with a shaking voice before turning the handle. "See you in a few days."

"Bye," is Sasori's curt response before the door slams shut.

Deidara's resolve breaks instantly. That cold, disdainful 'bye' and the lack of response from Sasori when he looked at him, pleading, longingly begging…it all comes crashing over Deidara, tearing him apart. Hot tears leak down his face as he heads to the car, and then he's full out sobbing and heaving, crying ugly tears as he drives back to the station.

He lets it all out on the ride home, his anger, his sorrow, his self pity. He cries and cries until there's nothing left, and he's pulling back into the police station with red puffy eyes and a beat up heart, one that probably can't take anymore blows.

He rushes inside and heads straight to the bathroom to rinse his face. Afterwards, he stays up writings reports with his headphones in, inviting no one in to talk with him.

He can't get out of his mind the thought of that evil woman's hands all over Sasori's chest though. Or her red dark lips around his most intimate parts. The image of Sasori smiling devilishly while doing her, and then gently fading into a sorrowful frown later with regret…these images and more swim through Deidara's head until he can't take it anymore.

It's already been several hours since he's left Sasori's place. But screw it, he's going back for another surprise visit.

/

Sasori saw something in those crystal azure eyes of Deidara's. It was a silent cry, and it was as clear as day. Deidara doesn't want Sasori to do this. He fears that Sasori will regret this, and, could Sasori's own eyes be betraying him? Or did Deidara look sad, and utterly defeated?

Sure, Sasori hired Jewel to have some fun, but underneath that layer, he also brought her here to make Deidara jealous. Now, his stomach is crawling with guilt, and he doesn't quite feel so sexy anymore.

He walks into his bedroom and his jaw drops open. Jewel has her top off already, tits bouncing around like two large bowls of jello. Her platforms were kicked off onto the floor, as well as her tiny shorts. The only item of clothing left is her thong, which has a tiny heart on the front that says 'kiss me.' The whole thing is totally surreal, and almost too cliché for Sasori to handle. Isn't this how all porn movies start? Seriously, why did he think it was a good idea to invite a prostitute into his house?

"You ready bad boy?" she asks playfully, her voice thick with seduction. But Sasori knows better, this is all an act, and she's the superstar.

He turns his eyes up to the ceiling, too embarrassed by her nudity to even look her in the eyes, "I-I can't go through with this."

"Aw, your first time paying for pleasure? Don't worry, I'll be gentle if that's what you like. I'll do anything you like," she gets off the bed and slowly makes her way towards him, but he puts a hand out to stop her.

"No, it's not that. I just changed my mind. I'll give you half pay and send you off, but I don't require your services any longer," Sasori says bluntly.

She frowns, pouting her lips out comically, "Is this because of that mean cop? You have a crush on him or something?"

"It's not like that," Sasori says too quickly, getting a little huff.

"Aw, you're in love with your probation officer, how bad," Jewel teases, "he isn't even that good looking, with all that long blonde hair. I never liked guys with long hair."

"Enough," Sasori commands, voice almost a snarl. "You know nothing about him. Leave it alone and get out."

Jewel knocks her head back and laughs, then picks up her clothes off the floor unashamedly, "So it is the cop. Tell me, did you invite me here to make him jealous? If so, your ploy worked, I saw the green in his eyes the moment he saw me."

"I said get out!" Sasori's temple is pulsing, he can't stand hearing all of this coming from her. How dare she talk about Deidara like that?

Jewel puts on her large oversized coat after dressing in her bra and shorts and then holds her hand out expectantly, "Half price won't do I'm afraid."

"I elected to cancel our arrangement. I shouldn't have to pay you a dime, I'm doing this out of courtesy," Sasori seethes between his teeth. He is so done with this woman.

"My boss will have some things to say about that," Jewel threatens, still holding her hand out, beckoning her fingers for cash.

Sasori pulls out some cash from his pocket and pays her half-price as he said. He won't give in to her threatening glances or warnings. She clicks her tongue in disapproval and then leaves his home with a slew of curse words that would put any sailor to shame. She warns him again that Golden Petey, her pimp, will have something to say about all of this. But Sasori shoes her off and doesn't give a damn.

He's feeling so blue and lonely, he almost doesn't care if someone comes and beats him up. Maybe they'll knock him out and end this miserable existence for him.

/

It's nearly 1am when Deidara arrives back at Sasori's place. He already clocked out at the office, but decided to swing by for one last surveillance. He's going to give Sasori a piece of his mind, dammit.

He pounds his fist on the door, hoping beyond hope that Sasori isn't currently naked with Jewel. This time, he hears a loud groaning yell on the other side, "Why are you back? Leave me alone!"

Deidara nearly bursts the door open at that. How dare Sasori talk to an officer of the law like that?! "Sasori open up now or so help me I will smash in your front – "

The door finally swings open, with a surprised Sasori standing there. Deidara gasps at what he sees – Sasori has a swollen, bruised eye and he's holding a bag of frozen peas to it. "Sorry, I thought you were someone else," Sasori states, stepping aside for Deidara to come in. This is a much different greeting than before, that's for sure.

"Wh-what the hell happened to you un!?" Deidara asks, forgetting for a moment that he's a cop, and that such matters don't really concern him. Although, if his suspicions are correct, this possibly leads to something illegal…

"Golden Petey is his name," Sasori spits it out with disdain, gently caressing the frozen peas over towards the bridge of his nose which has a hairline red crack.

"I knew it," Deidara says. He isn't sure whether he should be angry or resentful or feel bad for Sasori. At the moment, he feels all of those things at once, "Jewel is a prostitute and this Petey is her pimp, right un?"

"Yup," Sasori doesn't even try denying the fact, "I invited her over to make you jealous. Seems it worked if your over here again."

"You – you," Deidara splutters for a minute, raging hot with anger, "That's illegal you know! And how dare you!?"

"Huh, that's rich coming from you," Sasori sneers back, drawing closer, "I didn't do anything with her, hence this," he points to his swollen eye again, and now the pieces of the puzzle come in clearer. Deidara feels relief wash over his body, soaking him like warm water. It feels good to know that Sasori didn't go through with doing the nasty with that chick.

But he's still angry. Furious. "It's still illegal to invite a prostitute over with the intention to pay for sex hm."

"I'm not afraid of you, you know," Sasori says, taking another step closer. Deidara now realizes that he's somehow been backed up against the wall. He puffs out his chest, trying to remind Sasori of who's in charge of this conversation here.

"You should be. I could report you for that!" Deidara says, fists clenched.

"Report this," Sasori inches even closer and pins Deidara to the wall by his shoulders before kissing him harshly. Their lips collide together so forcefully it's likely they'll both have bruises tomorrow. But neither one stops. They are hungry for each other, for that familiar yet distant taste of one another. Sasori jams his tongue into Deidara, trying to assert dominance over him, pushing forth both his anger and his intense desire. There's a mix of extreme emotions coming from both of them as their tongues wrestle – they are both simultaneously excited and passionate and yet incensed and regretful, distressed by their predicament.

Sasori stops the kiss just as spontaneously as he started it. Without a warning, he simply pulls back and looks Deidara deadpan into his eyes, noting the dilation of his pupils and the pure heat that emanates from him from their passionate kiss. "Now, who's to say that you didn't push me up against that wall and force me to do things I didn't want to?"

Deidara narrows his eyes, his heart turning to ice. It was just warm and pumping full of ecstasy and adoration, and now, Sasori's taken away his hope again. "You're blackmailing me?"

"No, just simply saying that, again, I didn't do anything with Jewel. So if there happened to be a report about it, well, I might let loose that this kiss happened. And I didn't particularly want it to happen either," Sasori says slyly.

"You asshole," Deidara is fuming. "I wasn't even going to report about that dumb prostitute, I think a punch to the eye makes things pretty even un. I thought you were about to – to be serious with me!"

"I am being serious with you," Sasori says, crossing his arms.

"No you're not un! Are you still trying to pretend like you don't like me!? You admitted you invited that woman here to make me jealous! And don't try to tell me that that kiss was only a tool used to force me not to report you about her! You know I wasn't going to say anything, so clearly you just wanted to kiss me, am I right!? Why are you torturing me like this un? Haven't I been punished enough?!" Deidara turns on his heel and storms out of Sasori's home, hurt and mad by Sasori's words. He needs time away from him, time to wrap his head around this mind-fucker.

...

 **Author's Note:** Oh man, y'all were so worried! But don't fret, Sasori didn't do it! He could never, in my opinion. I just like to make my readers worry I guess, sorry guys! Ah, the angst is real. But things will get better, I promise! Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing and being amazing!


	6. Chapter 6

Sasori stands still, looking at the door that was just slammed shut in his face. Deidara was being honest just a moment ago, he knows this. He finally got to Deidara, he made him jealous and hurt him.

Sasori's stomach twists uneasily, so he goes to sit down. His lips are still tingling slightly from the electric charge of that kiss. He isn't sure what came over him – it was a bold move, to suddenly kiss Deidara like that and then threaten him. It was reckless.

But that kiss had been worth it. The way their mouths formed together like that, and how they both pushed into each other longingly – it's clear from that one kiss that Deidara really does have some lingering feelings for Sasori.

But Sasori probably just screwed everything up again. He crossed a line, went too far, by inviting a prostitute into his home. His stomach turns again with guilt, and he suddenly feels ill.

How is he ever going to face Deidara again?

Deidara had lied to him, had been another person when he was undercover. Sasori was so incised when he found that out, that he didn't even pause to consider how Deidara must have felt. What if Deidara was telling the truth, that he really did share feelings for Sasori too? Sasori has felt deceived and played for so long, and some twisted, demented part inside of him wanted revenge. Well, now he finally got it, and it doesn't feel right at all.

And Deidara had said to him ' _are you still trying to pretend like you don't like me?!'_ Can Deidara really see into Sasori's heart that easily? No matter how hard Sasori tries to fool Deidara, his tricks aren't up to par. Deidara is the only person who can see clearly through Sasori's deception.

Sasori moans and pulls at his hair. This is a total disaster!

/

Deidara's eyes are still red and puffy the next day. How will he face Sasori again? Is Sasori going to continue toying with him like this?

If so, he might have to find a legitimate reason to transfer job assignments again. He simply can't take this cruel form of punishment. Sasori crossed a line last night, and Deidara doesn't know if he can ever trust him.

Of course, it's not like Sasori really did anything wrong, in a sense. He and Deidara aren't going out. He can have visitors over whenever he likes. But the fact that he invited a sexual deviant over to his place for the sole reason of making Deidara jealous…that was definitely taking it too far.

And he didn't even have the courage to finally admit that he still likes Deidara! He stood there and acted like it was all a trick, just a show for revenge. He couldn't even own up to that kiss.

Deidara kicks the edge of his bed, blood boiling with anger as he thinks about the entire situation. The only good part was that Sasori didn't actually have sex with that woman. That was the only silver lining of the whole ordeal.

Deidara tries his best to clear his mind before going into work, although it's definitely a challenge. He decides that it would be best to avoid Sasori for as long as possible, and wait a few days before visiting him again. They both need some time to cool down.

So Deidara goes into the office with the intention of pouring into a new project, or perhaps helping another officer with a case. Luckily for him, Kakashi provides the perfect distraction.

"So Itachi found a knife stuck in his door this morning," Kakashi says upon Deidara's arrival.

"A knife? Did you fingerprint it un?" Deidara asks.

"Yeah, and it's clean. Whoever put it there wore gloves," Kakashi comments.

"Well, I thought you had extra security on Itachi's place. I thought the cops were making their rounds more often," Deidara says, finding it odd that no one saw a guy sticking a knife in Itachi's door. It sounds pretty creepy, and Deidara wonders what is going to be next…

"It must have happened when no one was on patrol over there. We have a routine, the cops drive by once every hour or so," Kakashi says.

"So then, whoever is after Itachi must be watching closely? You think they could've studied the cop patrol schedule un?" Deidara asks.

"Seems like it," Kakashi says with a sigh.

"So it looks like you're dealing with a real criminal mastermind here. It's someone cautious, this isn't a prank, they're sending a message to Itachi un. Someone is after him," Deidara says, making a bold conclusion.

"That's the way the evidence seems to be leading," Kakashi says, "I wanted to speak with you first and ask your opinion…do you think we should bring Itachi in? Keep him at the station to be safe?"

"Hm, that is one option…" Deidara knows that Itachi would hate being stuck in the police station, although, he would be safest here, "Or, raise security measures again. Can we ask Shikamaru to plant cameras around the home?"

"That was my other thought, yes," Kakashi agrees, "I think I'll do that. If we can capture the perp on tape, it'll make things a heck of a lot easier."

Deidara nods, "I'll ask Shikamaru, you worry about dealing with Itachi hm." At the back of his mind, Deidara is wondering if he'll come home tonight with a knife stuck in his own door…

…..

Perhaps placing cameras around Itachi's home scared the deviant away, because neither Deidara nor Itachi have gotten any strange messages in the past three days. Deidara was relieved to see that his home was devoid of knives or any other notes that night, and things at his house have since been calm and peaceful.

But, the peace in Deidara's life couldn't last long. He's overdue for a visit to Sasori's home, which he's been putting off. He's obligated to do a check-in at least once a week.

It takes Deidara a few minutes to work up the courage just to knock on Sasori's door when he arrives. It's already late at night, and Deidara would rather be anywhere but here. He finally gives three sharp wraps at the door, trying to ignore the trembling of his hands.

Sasori answers, not looking Deidara in the eye, "Hi."

"Hello Sasori," Deidara says coolly. His heart pinches and the anger surges again, as he recalls the last time he was here…

Deidara walks inside and takes one look around, "looks good to me un. Goodbye." He promptly turns on his heel, ready to leave in record time.

"Wait!" Sasori calls out, grabbing Deidara's wrist.

Deidara snatches his arm away, "Wait? Wait for what un?"

"I-I don't know," Sasori says lamely, looking desperate.

"You don't know," Deidara's voice now matches the fury he feels inside, "If you have something to say to me, then spit it out hm!"

Sasori's eyes narrow slightly, "There's no reason to yell, can't we just have a normal conversation?"

Deidara is about to lose his mind, "What the fuck Sasori!? I tried to have a normal conversation un! I tried with you, weeks ago! You never wanted to talk to me! And then you decide to have some whore over to make me jealous and then you kiss me out of the blue and tell me it's all a lie! I mean, what the actual fuck un!?"

Sasori yells back defensively, "You're the one who lied first!"

"I was doing my job! Do you not understand what was at risk!? Besides, I've already told you several times that I wasn't lying about my feelings, I really fell for you!" Deidara yells.

"Oh yeah? How was I supposed to know that? How can I trust you after everything that happened?" Sasori asks back, voice raising another octave.

"I said I was sorry, what more do you want from me un!?" Deidara asks, raising his arms up.

"I was angry okay! And then you became my probation officer! Do you have any idea how humiliating that is?! I never wanted you to see me like this," Sasori says, dejected.

"I only became your probation officer _because_ I care! You do all you can to deny that truth, and all you've done since I started coming here is blame everything on me!" Deidara yells. "Everything that happened between us when I was Naruko, it was real un! And I am sorry, again, for the millionth time! But don't you think you should cut me some slack?"

"You make me so crazy Deidara!" Sasori yells, "It's not fair that I still have all these feelings for you, and I don't even know the real you!"

"You are hopeless un! You really think you don't know anything about me!? You've spent the last few weeks trying to forget me and hate me, that's the problem un!" Deidara is rambling now, not even sure what he's saying, "You really hurt me, you know? I can't believe you did that, I can't believe you would even think of making me jealous like that!"

"I-I just wanted to feel like I had some more control over you! It isn't fair that you get to come here and do as you please and tell me that you care and I have no way of knowing if I can trust you or not! I couldn't just let you back into my heart again so easily!" Sasori screams, turning purple in the face.

"You wanted some weird control over me? Jeez, you've already had that for months now, and you don't even realize! I fucking love you Sasori!" Deidara cries back furiously.

Sasori's eyes widen and his mouth shuts as he swallows back whatever comeback he was previously thinking of. Deidara turns red, realizing what he just admitted. He's about to run, to just get out of there and never turn back, when he's forced up against the wall by surprising strength from Sasori. Sasori looks Deidara in the eyes, studying him carefully. Deidara is so stunned, he can't even blink.

And then Sasori's lips are upon his, arms propping him up and sliding up and down his body. Sasori is kissing him like he's never kissed him before – passionate and harsh but with true emotion behind it, and a lustful hunger like an animal. Deidara is shocked at first, but his instincts soon take over, and he wraps his arms around Sasori, grabbing on tight.

Deidara is suspended in the air, his ass gripped firmly by Sasori's hands. They kiss in a tight embrace for a few minutes, mouths hot and heavy. Deidara ravages Sasori's mouth, biting his lips and drawing his tongue against Sasori's, kissing him with fervor. Tongues still tangled and sucking, Sasori pulls Deidara in closer and hoists him up again, holding tight. He turns and starts walking, and Deidara holds onto his shoulders, not letting their mouths part.

Deidara is thrown onto Sasori's bed, causing the bedsprings to creak loudly. Sasori plunges himself on top of him again, colliding their lips like a man starved for affection. Then his fingers are over Deidara's shirt, unbuttoning the few buttons and pulling at his pants, pleading with Deidara to get naked. Deidara gets up for a moment to safely remove his police uniform and tools, placing his utility belt aside carefully. The instant he's down to his boxers, Sasori's hands are upon him again, eager to touch every inch of him.

"Mmm," Sasori croons as he takes a good look at Deidara. "Lay down."

Deidara does as he's told, laying back against Sasori's pillow. He's blushing furiously, very aware that Sasori is eyeing him up and down. "You should take off your clothes too un," Deidara suggests.

Sasori places a finger over Deidara's mouth, "Not just yet brat." Deidara gulps and then Sasori leans in and licks a stripe over his chest, running his tongue along each nipple. They both become hard nubs instantly, and Deidara feels like melting into the sheets.

Deidara is now rocking his hips off the bed, needing and wanting more. Sasori sees this and smirks, taking Deidara's nipple in between his lips and sucking hard. Deidara moans quietly, and rocks his hips up a little faster, pleading with Sasori. He's too distracted to notice that Sasori's hand is busy digging around for something in the drawer of his nightstand next to the bed.

But he notices when Sasori's hand slides his boxers away, and then comes down on him, slippery with lubricant. Sasori grasps his member and strokes slowly, teasingly. Sasori's hand is cool against his burning skin, and Deidara loses the ability to think rationally or breathe properly for a minute. He moans his approval, eyes rolling back as Sasori strokes up and down once more.

"Louder," Sasori commands.

Deidara turns redder, if possible. Sasori wants him to be louder? Deidara bites his lip and Sasori bends forward, dipping his head into Deidara's neck and nipping it. This causes Deidara to scream, "Ah! D-Danna!" It's been a long time since he's called Sasori by that nickname, and it seems to stir something like a primal energy inside of Sasori, because Sasori suddenly stiffens his entire body, and then his hips pulse forward instinctually into Deidara in an aggressive manner. He begins stroking Deidara faster, and sucking harder on Deidara's neck.

Deidara cries out again, already feeling close. Sasori releases his hold on Deidara and pushes himself up on his hands, looking down at Deidara. "W-why did you stop un?" Deidara asks. Sasori is staring at him with such intensity, it makes him blush for a third time.

"I need you now," Sasori states, his voice a low growl. He gets off the bed and throws his shirt off over his head, then pulls down his pants, revealing his erection. He grabs the bottle of lube again, coating his hand before inserting a finger into Deidara.

Deidara moans again at the cool touch against his hot and lustful skin. "Hm, you're already so loose…" Sasori notes, voice low with seduction.

"I-I've been touching myself recently," Deidara admits.

"You use a dildo?" Sasori asks curiously.

"Y-yes un," Deidara says, a little embarrassed. It's probably best to just be honest and come clean to Sasori, "I always think of you when I use it."

Sasori stops all motions again, and his face turns the color of his hair, eyes wide with lust. He shifts Deidara, grabbing his legs and moving him so that his ass is at the edge of the bed. He then lines his dick up with Deidara's entrance and says, "I can't wait any longer."

"Me either, do it un!" Deidara cries, his own member throbbing uncomfortably for a release.

Sasori complies, pushing into Deidara so deep he sees stars. If Sasori wanted Deidara to be loud, then he finally got his wish. Deidara yells as Sasori pulls in and out, the feel is intensely overwhelming. He wasn't stretched out properly, so it stings a little at first, but as Sasori gets into a steady rhythm, pleasure takes over the pain in Deidara's body. His dick is painfully hard now, ready to climax.

"Not yet," Sasori breathes in a low husk, as though he can read Deidara's mind. Sasori's hands trail up Deidara's chest, thumbs circling over his nipples, sending a current of electricity throughout Deidara's entire being. Deidara is extremely sensitive to every touch from Sasori, and he nearly loses his mind as Sasori bends forward and skims his lips against Deidara's navel.

Sasori is breathing heavy, pulsating his hips with a fierce intensity, as though this is the one and only time he can screw Deidara. He's moving so fast, he might just fuck Deidara's brains out. Deidara's mind is clouded with ecstasy, even with Sasori moving at this pace, he still can't get enough. "P-please un!"

Sasori picks Deidara up with surprising strength, holding him close against his chest. Sasori spins himself around so that he's the one now sitting at the edge of the bed, with Deidara straddled on top of him. Deidara takes this as his cue to move his hips up and down over Sasori, taking him in fully. Sasori's eyelids flutter, and Deidara wonders for a moment if he's gone unconscious.

Now, with Deidara dick sliding in between both their bodies, Deidara is definitely going to reach climax soon. Sasori's chest against his is hot and slick, and the skin on skin contact is slowly driving Deidara nuts. Deidara pushes himself against Sasori and claims his lips again, burying his tongue into Sasori's mouth. Sasori kisses him back heatedly, wrapping his arms around Deidara's back and digging his nails into him.

Deidara humps up and down faster, moaning into Sasori's mouth. Sasori groans back and whispers between kisses, "You – are – so – hot – brat."

Deidara throws his head back, hips moving of their own accord over Sasori. He's so close he could touch the moon. "Ah- Ah! Danna!" Deidara yells out for him, and then Sasori's hand is upon his chest again, slithering down to his dick.

Sasori strokes him and brings him to his climax. Deidara cries out as he comes between them, and rocks his hips faster, muscles clenching around Sasori. Sasori suddenly yells out too, and Deidara can feel Sasori reaching his orgasm, pushing everything into him as he breathes and gasps for air.

Deidara breathes in deeply and then exhales everything from his lungs, letting his head loll onto Sasori's shoulder. Sasori's chest is moving in and out fast, and he's trying hard to say something, but Deidara shushes him by placing a finger to his lips. They both take their time catching their breath, huddled close together, both sticky with sweat and cum.

Sasori finally manages to speak, "Th-that was worth it. I can't believe you let me fuck you like that."

"I've been waiting a long time for this to happen un," Deidara tells him, honestly. He gets up slowly, wincing slightly at the pain in his ass. This is definitely going to hurt the next day.

Sasori pulls Deidara's face towards him, resting their foreheads together, "I'm sorry."

Deidara laughs, his heart feels like it might burst. He's so relieved, and so overwhelmed with emotion, that he begins to cry and laugh at the same time. He attempts to turn his face from Sasori, not wishing for Sasori to see his tears.

But Sasori holds his face firmly in both hands, and doesn't allow Deidara to turn away. He wipes at Deidara's tears with his thumbs and says again, "I'm sorry. I've been acting like a dick, and I'm sorry."

Deidara sniffles again, "I-I forgive you un. B-but," he heaves more tears, fearful of the answer, "Can you forgive me too? I'm sorry too Danna. I never meant to break your heart."

Sasori closes the gap between them and kisses Deidara passionately, allowing Deidara to cry softly as their lips mold together. Sasori holds Deidara like a delicate doll as he kisses him, gently this time, not like their rough and hungry kisses from before. By the time their lips part, Deidara is no longer in tears, and Sasori responds, "yes, I forgive you. You were only doing your job after all, and I was too angry to see past that. I didn't realize that you really did care."

"I honestly felt horrible un. There were many times where I wanted to tell you that I wasn't really Naruko, but I had to hold it back. But when I was with you, I was myself, just under another name. I felt so comfortable with you un, and I never meant to fall for you, but it happened anyways," Deidara explains. The two are lying in Sasori's bed now, still naked, arms wrapped around each other. Finally, they are going to have the civil conversation that Deidara's been yearning for.

"So, you really were excited to go to an art museum with me?" Sasori asks, bringing back the memory of their first date.

"Yes un! I couldn't believe you brought me there, I love art so much!" Deidara says, nuzzling his nose into Sasori's cheek.

"Fleeting art? Please tell me that was the real Naruko's preference," Sasori says jokingly.

Deidara laughs, "I have no idea what form of art she likes. But to me, art is momentary un."

Sasori shakes his head, "Hopeless. Art is eternal, and everlasting beauty."

"Whoever said art has to be beautiful?" Deidara asks back teasingly. Sasori is about to comeback, but Deidara quickly says, "It seems like art is one thing you and I will never agree on."

Sasori nods, "Yeah, I guess not." They are silent for a minute, drinking each other in. Sasori is mindlessly playing with Deidara's blonde hair, and Deidara's fingers are circling over Sasori's chest, feeling the smooth skin beneath his light touch.

"Hey Deidara?"

"Yes un?"

"Do you still have those skirts and dresses that you wore as Naruko?" Sasori asks with a mischievous smirk.

"I do…why?" Deidara isn't sure if he likes where this is going.

"Maybe you could wear those little skirts again someday, just for me?" Sasori asks playfully.

Deidara turns beet red, and pushes his pillow in Sasori's face, "No way un! Do you have any idea how embarrassing that would be?!" So much for a civil conversation. It seems that no matter what they do, they always find something to argue about.

However, this time is different from the others. Sasori flings the pillow back at Deidara, laughing. Now that they know into each other's hearts and true feelings, there's a new sense of security between them. They can argue and bicker all they want, but it won't change the fact that they are crazy about each other.

Sasori flings himself over Deidara, pinning him down and planting kisses along his neckline. Deidara squirms under him, "Hey! What are you doing un?" Sasori's lips ghost across his chest and then towards his stomach, and Deidara bursts out laughing, "Stop! That tickles!" He squirms more, trying to get away.

"Oh," Sasori lifts up and smirks, "So you're ticklish? I didn't know that about you."

Deidara blushes, "let me go un, I'm still sticky and gross."

"Hm, I haven't had my fill yet with you though," Sasori says seductively. "You don't have anywhere else to be tonight, do you?"

"Um, I'm done with my shift if that's what you mean…" Deidara admits slowly, "But I should get home soon hm."

"Do you have anyone waiting for you there?" Sasori asks curiously.

"No un, I live alone," Deidara says.

"Good. Then one night away won't kill you," Sasori says before swooping down and planting a raspberry on Deidara's stomach.

Deidara screeches out a yelp of surprise before laughing, his sides aching. "Ah! No! I told you I'm ticklish there!"

"And I told you I'm not done with you yet!" Sasori cries back, a fevered look in his eyes, "I'm going to pleasure you all night long."

"Then don't tickle me dammit," Deidara warns.

Sasori shakes his head, "such a brat. But look," Sasori nods down towards Deidara's crotch, "you're already becoming hard again, and I've barely touched you."

"It's because of what you said un," Deidara says, blushing when he realizes that he does indeed have a growing erection.

"Mmm, I'll have to take care of that," Sasori purrs in a low voice. He bends over and licks down Deidara's stomach, causing Deidara to stir again. He reaches Deidara's erection and starts to tease him by licking the area around it, before finally placing his tongue at the tip.

"Ah," Deidara is already panting again, new sweat forming on his brow, "please."

Sasori takes him in whole, deep into his throat, sucking and squeezing with his lips. Deidara shakes on the bed, the pleasure is so good. He just had an orgasm, but his body is already craving for another one.

Sasori and Deidara won't be getting much sleep tonight at all.

...

 **Author's Note:** Thank you for your patience! Here's the long awaited smut! Enjoy! ;)


	7. Chapter 7

The two eventually fell asleep, somewhere in the early hours of the morning after pleasing each other countless times. They had decided to finally shower up and get some rest, since Sasori has class and Deidara has work the next day. Needless to say, they are both exhausted in the morning.

"Jeez, is it already 11am? I feel like I haven't slept at all," Sasori complains.

"When is your class un?" Deidara asks.

"Not until 3 today, I might just stay in bed until then," Sasori says lazily, "when do you have work?"

"I don't have to be in until 4pm, but I should get home to water my plants un," Deidara says, thinking about his little flowers on the windowsill.

"You have plants!?" Sasori asks, as though this is a joke.

"Yeah un, what's wrong with that?" Deidara shoots back.

"Nothing, I just didn't expect that. I thought you didn't like 'beautiful art.'" Sasori says with air quotes.

"I like plants, I've always thought they were a perfect form of art – they're beautiful for as long as you tend to them, and then they slowly wither and die. It's fleeting, temporary, like life," Deidara explains, speaking passionately about one of his favorite subjects.

"Ah, here we go again with that crap. But I do enjoy flowers and plants too, I like to carve their designs into my woodprints," Sasori comments. He turns over in bed to look at Deidara more closely, "I guess there's still stuff about you I don't know. But I want to get to know you better Deidara."

"I'd like that," Deidara says, curling his fingers with Sasori's.

"I have a lot of questions still, actually," Sasori says.

"Yeah? You can ask me anything un," Deidara says, kissing Sasori's cheek.

"Hm, where do I start?" Sasori ruminates, "First off, how old are you really? I mean, are you really younger than me?"

"No, I'm two years older than you," Deidara says.

Sasori wears a cross expression, "You're 25! And all this time I thought I was the older, more mature one!"

Deidara laughs at him, "I'm not that much older un."

"I've never dated anyone older than me. I can't believe I screwed an older guy, and a cop nonetheless," Sasori says, proud of this accomplishment.

Deidara rolls his eyes playfully. This guy really likes to think that he's hot shit, doesn't he? Oh well, despite his slight egotism, Deidara's in love with him anyways.

"But…how is this going to work out? I mean, are we a couple now? You're still my probation officer…" Sasori asks, changing the subject. They were too busy finding various ways to please each other last night, that they hadn't really paused to talk about what's next. Now Sasori is worried.

"Well, yeah, that's a good question un," Deidara ponders this, "I'm the one who will get into more trouble though. I might have to think of an excuse to get you a different probation officer."

"And then?" Sasori asks, still confused.

"And then we can date. Outside of work, of course," Deidara says, as if it's really that simple.

"I can't go many places," Sasori says glumly, being reminded of his probation restrictions.

"That's okay un. I'll come visit you all the time. As long as I'm with you, I don't care," Deidara says, squeezing Sasori's hand.

Sasori smiles, "Okay."

"Okay?" Deidara asks back, surprised that Sasori is accepting this.

Sasori nods, "So, you'll be my boyfriend then?"

"Yes un! Of course," Deidara smiles widely, feeling giddy.

Sasori smiles back, cupping Deidara's face with a hand, "You know, for the record, I like you better as Deidara the cop than Naruko the annoying student."

Sasori leans in and kisses Deidara again. Deidara thinks idly to himself that perhaps his plants at home can wait.

…..

Deidara arrives home much later that night, after his shift at work. He's exhausted, and more than ready to take a nice relaxing bath and then go to sleep.

But the moment he gets to his front door, he knows something is wrong. The doormat is shifted slightly, and his key doesn't quite fit into the keyhole, as though someone jammed something forcefully into it in an attempt to unlock it. He frantically swings the door open and finds an envelope on the floor that someone slid in under the door.

He opens the envelope with shaking fingers, and is struck with the déjà vu of when Sasori was kidnapped by Madara. Just like last time, he finds pictures in the envelope.

But this time, the pictures are of himself and Sasori. Someone was there last night, peeping through the window of Sasori's townhome. They got shots of him and Sasori arguing. There's a picture of them making out furiously against the wall. The last picture depicts Sasori carrying Deidara off into the bedroom, where thankfully, the blinds were completely closed.

Unlike last time, there's no note, no warning, nothing. Just pictures. It's a clear sign – someone is stalking Deidara, following his every move and waiting for the right time to act. What this person wants with him isn't clear, but their tactic to scare him is definitely working.

Deidara clutches the pictures to his chest and rushes out of his house, setting his alarm and locking the door with shaking fingers. His gun is out and he holds it in front of him, half expecting his stalker to jump out at him from behind the bushes.

He gets into his car and drives off, dialing Kakashi.

"Hello? Deidara?" Kakashi sounds distracted, "Listen, I'm in the middle – "

"This is important un! I'm being stalked! I need you to meet me at Sasori's house, bring as many cops as you can! He may be in danger too!" Deidara yells back as he steps on the pedal, making towards Sasori's home with his heart drumming unpleasantly.

"Wait what? Calm down," Kakashi says.

Deidara cuts him off again, "No! This is serious un! That guy that's after Itachi, I think he's after me too!"

"Deidara breathe!" Kakashi yells back forcefully. Deidara takes a deep breath, trying to calm down. It doesn't really work, but he lets Kakashi speak again, "I can't leave now, I'm currently with Itachi, who is lying on the street unconscious. He was just the victim of a hit and run that almost cost him his life."

Deidara is silent for a minute, trying to process this. "What the hell!?"

"I'll send some cops over to Sasori's place right away, but I have to stay here with Itachi. Are you sure Sasori is in immediate danger right now?" Kakashi asks.

"I don't know un!" Deidara bites his lower lip, knowing that he's going to kick himself in the foot for being so careless about all this. He's definitely going to be in a lot of trouble, but at the moment it doesn't matter. All that matters is Sasori's safety. "The guy took pictures of Sasori and I when I was visiting him last night…on a personal affair. It seems he's using them as blackmail or something un. There was no note, just pictures."

Kakashi is silent on the other end, processing this. "I'll send Jiraiya, and I'll inform Tsunade. Jiraiya will meet you there."

"Okay un, thanks," Deidara says as he pulls into Sasori's neighborhood.

/

Sasori is just finishing his dinner, wondering when he'll see Deidara again when he hears a loud and frantic knocking on his door. His heart leaps up as he goes to answer it, knowing already who it will be.

"Deidara, I was just – " the rest of his sentence is cut short as Deidara slams his body into him in a forceful hug, nearly tumbling them both to the floor. "Ouch," Sasori says. Did Deidara miss him that much in one day?

"Sasori, thank goodness you're safe!" Deidara cries in relief.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be safe?" Sasori asks back, confused.

Deidara looks back over his shoulder outside before closing the door and locking it. Sasori then notices that Deidara is holding out his gun, and acting very nervous. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Sit down Sasori," Deidara says, "I have a lot to tell you. Officer Jiraiya should be here any minute."

"Um…okay?" Sasori is perplexed, but he sits and lets Deidara take a deep breath before relaying everything. Sasori learns that Itachi wasn't the only one being targeted by a follower of Madara. This explains Deidara's nervous behavior from when he told him about Itachi's stalker note. It all makes sense now. He is shocked to hear that this person took pictures of them from last night.

"—and so, that's the whole story un," Deidara finishes in a rush, still looking around over his shoulder every few seconds. He closed up all the blinds to the windows, so Sasori's place looks dark and dismal at the moment.

Sasori takes in a deep breath, trying to calm his rising temper. "I-If this person tries to lay a hand on you, so help me, I will bury them into the ground."

Deidara looks up, surprised, "That's what I was thinking un, but about you."

"Why is this other officer coming?" Sasori asks.

"Um, well, I do need to report that this stalker is after me un," Deidara admits, looking a little sheepish.

"You didn't report this yet? Why don't you just go to the police station?" Sasori asks, flabbergasted.

"I can't leave you alone! What if this guy decides to make a move on you!?" Deidara asks back, walking over and sitting next to Sasori, clasping their hands together.

"Well, fair enough. But why haven't you said anything to anyone about this yet?" Sasori asks, hugging Deidara close.

"Because, I thought I could handle it on my own un. And also…if Jiraiya or Kakashi knew about it, they would've told me to lay low, and I-I didn't want to do that. I wanted to keep coming here as your probation officer, I didn't want to stop coming to see you because of this," Deidara says, nuzzling his face into Sasori's chest. "I know it's a stupid reason un."

"Brat," Sasori says, shaking his head, "You're going to get in a lot of trouble for all of this."

"I know un. And if you're in danger, it's my fault again…I didn't think this through, I'm an idiot," Deidara says, sobbing silently.

Sasori is about to comfort Deidara, when a loud knock interrupts them. Deidara jolts up from the couch and answers it after looking through the peephole. "Jiraiya," Deidara looks relieved.

"Hey there Deidara," Jiraiya scopes the room quick, noting Sasori's position on the couch and the few streaks of tears on Deidara's cheeks. He smirks, "you've been naughty, haven't you?"

"There's no time for that now," Deidara says, closing the door behind Jiraiya, "we need to get Sasori up to the station."

"Wait, what?" Sasori looks up, confused. "Why?"

"It seems your lover wants you to stay a night with the police to make sure you're safe," Jiraiya says. Deidara's temple pulses slightly at his blunt speech. "Also, Deidara, where are these photos of yours? We need to take them in as evidence."

Deidara pulls out an envelope and hands it to Jiraiya, blushing furiously, "D-don't look at them right now. Like you said, it's evidence."

Jiraiya nods, "I don't relish seeing your naked pictures Deidara," again, Deidara's pulse surges, "now let's get you both down to the station."

….

Sasori complies, sitting awkwardly in the backseat of a police car, with Jiraiya driving and Deidara sitting comfortably in the passenger seat. Sasori wonders if the stalker is watching them now, perhaps cursing to himself that he didn't get a chance to make his move.

Normally, Sasori would be upset if someone decided to displace him from his home. But, he wants to do all he can to comfort Deidara. Deidara was worried when he explained everything about the creepy note and the pictures he received. Deidara thinks that this guy is after Sasori, but Sasori is pretty sure he's after Deidara. Deidara is the one who unraveled Madara's secrets, after all.

When they arrive at the police station, Sasori is surprised to see how busy it is inside. He's seated in a chair in the waiting room, and told to stay put while Jiraiya and Deidara 'sort things out.'

Deidara gives him a sad look before walking into the back, his blue eyes glazed with tears and longing. Sasori understands what Deidara is thinking, even if Deidara can't say it right now. Deidara is sad because he's sorry, and he blames himself for Sasori's current situation. Once again, Sasori might possibly be used by Madara to hurt Deidara.

But this time, Sasori is determined to do something about it. He knows that Sasori is the one who's really in danger, not himself. And this isn't Deidara's fault.

There's no way in hell someone is going to take Deidara away from Sasori now, not after all they've gone through to get to this point.

/

Deidara fidgets with his fingers, waiting impatiently for Tsunade to make a decision.

"These photographs…" she says slowly, looking them over once more, "they should never have happened. Not only were you careless as a police officer, but you stepped out of your boundaries by getting involved romantically with Sasori."

"I know," Deidara says, "I'm sorry."

"And, you didn't come forward about this stalker until now, after several weeks…I expected better from you Deidara. This isn't something I can just sweep aside," Tsunade says sternly, "I'm going to have to place you on suspension, for at least a month."

"A whole month un!?" Deidara looks at her incredulously.

"Yes," Tsunade's voice is firm, "I'm going to place extra security measures around your place and Sasori's as well. You're officially off the probation team for the time being, and you won't be coming back as Sasori's probation officer, that's for sure."

"I expected that un, but a whole month?!" Deidara can't believe his ears.

"You disobeyed your duties as an officer of the law, you fraternized with an ex criminal, and you failed to bring forth pertinent information that may have helped Itachi's case," Tsunade is almost screaming now, "So yes, a month. Now, go ahead and turn in your badge and gun."

Deidara takes his badge off, and then hands her his gun, feeling glum. At least Sasori is here at the station, safe for tonight.

"I really don't know what's gotten into your head officer," Tsunade says, sighing, "I think you need this time off to think things through."

"What about this stalker? How am I supposed to help find him?" Deidara wonders.

"You aren't. Leave that to us. You're as much a victim in this case as Itachi is, and our priority is to keep you two safe," Tsunade says.

"How are you going to do that?" Deidara asks, knowing that he's crossing a line here by asking these types of questions, "Kakashi is at the scene with Itachi right now, after a hit and run."

"Don't you dare defy me Deidara!" Tsunade yells, anger finally getting the best of her, "Itachi is injured, yes, but not dead! And we have no proof that this hit and run had anything to do with the stalker at all, so keep your damn mouth shut!"

Deidara backs up a few steps, knowing defeat when he sees it. He trusts Tsunade's judgment, he's just bitter that he can't work on this case himself. "Okay," Deidara says, "So, what do I do un?"

"Go home and sleep. We'll take it from here," Tsunade says, closing her eyes and massaging her forehead with her fingers.

"Home? I was hoping to stay with Sasori here overnight, to make sure he's safe," Deidara says slowly.

"He'll be safe, he's surrounded by cops. I already have some officers setting up security cameras at your place, and they'll stay there overnight to watch. I'll send Sasori home in the morning, and he'll be watched too," Tsunade says. She looks at Deidara and adds, "this is not up for discussion, you look like you might pop a vein with all that worry. Now go home and sleep, it's for your own good."

Deidara nods, exiting her office, not quite realizing the effect of everything that's happened. He's on suspension, which means he isn't allowed to look into this matter on his own, and he has to leave it up to his co-workers. He trusts everyone he works with, but it's still infuriating to be told to just go home and be complacent and do nothing.

He stops in the waiting room on his way out, not sure what to say to Sasori. Seeing him here, under protection because of something he did…it's all too much. If he put Sasori in any danger or trouble, he's going to hate himself. He can't stand the fact that it's his fault Sasori is here now.

So he simply stands there, mouth agape, looking like an idiot and letting everything wash over him. Sasori gets up and hugs Deidara, and Deidara loses it. He cries into Sasori's shoulder, no longer caring who sees.

"What happened?" Sasori asks.

"I'm going home un," Deidara sobs, "b-but you, you are going to stay here overnight. I'm so sorry! This is all my fault! I led the stalker to you, I should've known, should've taken this matter more seriously," Deidara wails and hugs Sasori close.

Sasori pats his back, "Don't be sorry, this isn't your fault. Whoever this person is, it's their fault."

Deidara pulls back a second to look at Sasori, "you aren't mad at me un?"

"Why would I be mad?" Sasori asks, perplexed, "you're putting way too much stress on yourself. Go home and sleep, I'll be fine here. It's kind of nice actually, to be sleeping somewhere else for a change, since I've been cooped up in my home."

Deidara blinks back a few more tears, "You're so kind."

"Only to you, remember?" Sasori says, recalling a line he told Deidara back when he thought he was 'Naruko.'

Deidara chuckles a little, "I have to go now. I'll come visit you tomorrow. I'm on suspension, so you'll get a new probation officer soon."

"I expected as much, how long is your suspension?" Sasori asks.

"A month un. What am I going to do for a whole month?" Deidara asks in despair.

"Visit me?" Sasori suggests.

Deidara smiles, probably for the first time today, "Yeah un."

"Now get home, you look like a walking zombie," Sasori demands, "I'll be fine here, they said there's a bed in the back for me."

Deidara nods and gives Sasori a kiss on the cheek, "I love you un. I'm coming by your place first thing in the morning."

"Yeah, okay, see you tomorrow," Sasori says, watching Deidara exit, feeling like his heart might burst with love for this man.


	8. Chapter 8

Itachi opens his eyes slowly, surprised to see his hospital bed surrounded by so many people. "S-Sasuke," Itachi's eyes land on his brother, who sighs in relief.

"Itachi, are you okay?" Sasuke asks with worry. Naruko is standing close by, a hand on Sasuke's back for support. The police officer Deidara is standing off in the corner of the room, dressed in normal clothes.

"I'm fine, really, just a little sore," Itachi admits.

"What happened un?" Deidara walks a little closer to the bed, and Sasuke stares at him with daggers.

"Let him rest, this isn't a matter for the police to get involved in right now," Sasuke seethes.

"Sasuke, don't be so mad, he's only trying to help ya know," Naruko says, grabbing Sasuke's hand.

"It's fine Sasuke, really. I've been meaning to speak with an officer about this, now that I'm conscious," Itachi says, causing all heads to turn towards him. They're all ears now, so Itachi continues, "I'm fairly certain that this hit and run was a direct attack, the driver was definitely trying to kill me. I was just driving back from the grocery store, trying to get home before my curfew at 8pm, when I saw a car driving very close behind me. I moved to the right lane, but the car still followed me, riding my ass. The car followed my every turn, and I even tried to throw him for a loop, making unexpected turns or stops. He followed everything I did. I started to panic, so I called the cops. They said to drive to the station, so I headed in that direction, and he still followed me. He must have realized that I had changed route though, because he pulled up next to me, driving fast. I tried to get a glimpse of who was driving, but he had on a dark, black mask. He was in some sort of body suit from the looks of it, his arms were covered in a dark layer like his face. He rammed his car into mine on the side, and my car spun out. I took back control of the car after spinning, and I was about to hit the gas when his car suddenly came at me again, this time head on. Then everything went dark for me," Itachi explains.

"By the time Kakashi got to the scene, the man who hit you was already gone," Deidara says, recalling the story he heard from Kakashi that morning. "So it definitely wasn't a simple 'hit and run' event, it was an attack on your life un."

"Yes, exactly," Itachi says, "And I know just who would do such a thing."

"Madara?" Sasuke asks.

"Exactly," Itachi says, nodding slowly, "I know it's him."

Deidara nods, agreeing, "You aren't the only one he's after. That's why I came to talk to you un, I had a suspicion that there was something fishy about your car accident."

"So he's after you too Deidara?" Itachi asks.

"Yeah un," Deidara admits.

Itachi sighs, "It's because you were the cop who discovered his operation, and put him in prison, and I handed over that information to you."

"He's our relative, what a despicable thing to do!" Sasuke yells, gritting his teeth.

"At least you're okay," Deidara says.

"You think he's okay!?" Sasuke screeches, "This is all your fault again!"

"Sasuke stop!" Naruko looks truly upset, her happy-go-lucky smile is gone, "This isn't his fault ya know!"

Deidara whispers a quiet 'thank you' to Naruko, who acknowledges his gratitude and leads Sasuke over to a hospital chair to sit in. Itachi holds back from rolling his eyes at his hot tempered little brother. "I'll be in the hospital for a few weeks, so it looks like I'll be safe here for now. The hospital staff is aware of the situation, so they won't be letting any suspicious characters into my room for visits or anything, not without my approval. But you better watch your back Deidara."

"Yeah I know un. I'm determined to find this guy," Deidara says, clasping his hands together. Although he's on suspension, he can't just sit around and wait for someone to come and kill him…no, he's going to do whatever it takes to solve this crime, just like he did with Madara's case.

/

Sasori is in the middle of his homework when the doorbell rings. "That's odd," he mumbles under his breath, Deidara just left his place about an hour ago to say hello to Itachi in the hospital. He can't be back already can he?

But it isn't Deidara at the door. It's his parents.

"Mom! Dad!" Sasori is so surprised, he almost feels feint.

His parents are brimming with smiles, a sight that Sasori thought he would never see again. They rush forward and both hug him, his mom sobbing. "Oh sweetie! We've been meaning to come by!"

Sasori doesn't know what to say, so he ushers them into his home.

"I-I thought you guys were never going to see me again," Sasori says, realizing his cheeks are wet with tears.

"We've had to travel for our business, and haven't been home often. Why haven't you called us?" his father asks.

"I did call!" Sasori feels a surge of anger towards his grandmother, "Granny Chiyo said you guys didn't want to see me, that you were disappointed in me."

His parents look stunned, and they are silent for a moment. "My mother…she's so damn stubborn," Sasori's father finally says, shaking his head.

"She told us that you never called," Sasori's mother says.

Sasori sighs, "I should've known."

"We decided to stop by, we were so worried about you. We should've known that Chiyo might lie to us, it wouldn't be the first time. She thinks she's protecting us, but really, it's hurting us," his mother relays, with eyes full of love for her son.

"So…you guys still care?" Sasori asks slowly, afraid of the answer.

His parents embrace him in another hug, squeezing so tight he thinks his ribs might crack. "Sasori! We will always love you! We will always care! We're upset that you got mixed up in this trouble, but we will always support you!" Sasori's mother is wailing with sobs.

His father nods in agreement into Sasori's neck, "I love you son."

Sasori has never felt so relieved in his life. Things are coming together, finally. He spends the afternoon with his parents. They take him out for lunch and catch him up on everything that's happened in the past few weeks. They laugh and talk with each other for the first time in a long time. Sasori even admits to them that he's started dating someone new, and his parents are both eager to meet him one day. When they drop Sasori off at home later, he feels refreshed and loved. A hole in his heart was filled, and he is elated.

His good mood isn't due just to his parents showing up at his doorstep – he's also been in a daze since he and Deidara got together. It feels almost unreal. The events of the past 2 days have all happened so fast and been so dramatic, he hasn't had a chance to fully process everything.

He has time to finally reflect that night over the fact that he and Deidara are together. They finally made up, and things are truly okay. The best part of it, is that Deidara loves him. He said so, twice. Sasori feels the same way towards Deidara, but he hasn't had the courage to say it yet. He wonders what's holding him back…maybe there's still a layer of distrust there, as though all of this is too good to be true. He feels like he's waiting for something bad to happen, something to destroy all of his happiness again. But he has hope that things will stay this way.

The only threat to his happiness right now is Deidara's stalker. If this person, whoever he or she may be, decides to make an attempt to kill Deidara…Sasori can't even bring himself to think about what might happen. He has to save Deidara, somehow.

/

Deidara wrinkles his nose at the smell as soon as he walks into the prison. It's something sour and rotten, but none of the other officers seem to notice. They must be used to the stink by now.

Deidara walks up to the visitors check-in and writes down his name, eager to take a peek at the previous visitor's list. Has Madara had any visitors yet? Kakashi said that no one has come to see him.

Deidara waits impatiently before someone finally calls him back and gives him a quick pat-down. Then he's finally face to face with the man he came to see.

Obito.

"Hmph, what are you doing here? I was surprised to hear that I had a visitor, but I never suspected it would be you," Obito says in a grumble.

"I know this is a little odd," Deidara admits, "but I have some questions for you un."

"Well, go ahead," Obito says, still wearing a frown.

"Okay un. Well, first I wanted to ask about Rin," Deidara says slowly, remembering how Obito reacted when he heard that name during the investigation.

"Rin?" Obito looks shocked, and then his eyes lower with somberness, "What do you want to know about her?"

"Well, I remember you speaking about her that night, and you were really upset. I looked into the matter, it looks like she was killed when someone was trying to mug her?" Deidara asks.

"Yes. It happened a long time ago…why are you asking about it?" Obito wonders.

"Well, you said that Madara blackmailed you into joining his group with pictures of her, but it looks like she was killed a few weeks before you joined his gang, so how is that possible?" Deidara asks.

"It was a lie that I could tell to Itachi and Konan and the others to make it seem like I was on their side. The truth is, the death of Rin is the reason I joined up with Madara. He had come to me with his proposal to start selling drugs and make a great profit a few weeks before her death, but I turned him down because I wasn't interested in the life of a criminal. Then, one day, I was out on a date with Rin, and I left her alone for a few minutes to get a drink at the closest stand for the two of us, and I came back and saw her die right before my eyes," Obito explains, with a hardened and pained look.

"You saw it happen un?" Deidara asks, shocked.

"Yeah. I wasn't close enough to do anything, but I saw a man in a mask stab her with his pocket knife and take her purse. By the time I called for an ambulance, she was already bleeding out in my arms…" Obito's eyes are hollow now, as he recalls the horrible memory.

"That's awful un. But, what made you want to join with Madara after that?" Deidara asks.

"Well, he was by my side at the funeral and made the offer to me again. He said that the only people who survive in this world are criminals. I was naïve and in pain, so I followed him numbly, hoping for a distraction from the sorrow I felt over her death. I was even stupid enough to think that his words might be true, that criminals are the survivors…how pathetic," Obito sneers.

"So, you and Madara don't get along now?" Deidara asks, noting Obito's change of heart since the last time he saw him at Madara's hideout.

"Well, I wouldn't say that exactly…" Obito says slowly.

"And what about this masked man? What was he wearing? Did the cops ever catch him?" Deidara has a million questions piled up now.

"He had on a dark, black suit, like latex all over his body. It was skin tight, and then he wore a black mask to cover his face. I couldn't see what he looked like, and there were no finger prints. The cops never found him, not even to this day," Obito says, glaring at Deidara as though this is his fault.

"Hm," Deidara ponders this. This man sounds very much like the stalker that Itachi described…

"Hey," Obito whispers, leaning down close to the table. Deidara leans in to hear him, "I know you didn't just come here to ask me questions about Rin for no reason. You're suspicious of Madara, aren't you? Is he causing trouble on the outside for you?"

"Yeah," Deidara whispers back, "what do you know?"

"Well, if I tell you, do you promise to keep me protected? He'll certainly have me killed in here if he finds out. He has his ways," Obito looks around left and right, hoping that no one can overhear them.

"Yeah, of course. If you cooperate then maybe you can even get a reduction in your time sentence un," Deidara says. He'll have to talk to Tsunade and convince her somehow to agree to this…

Obito gives a small smile, "I won't keep my hopes up. But, anyways, Madara has been using me to send letters back and forth with someone on the outside. His name is Zetsu, he comes here once a week to visit me. Madara gives me a note to give to him, and warns that I'll be beat up in my sleep if I even look at it. I comply with his orders because he's one of the top dogs in this place, he already has a lot of other followers. So I give the note to this Zetsu guy, who reads it and then tears it apart and throws it away. He gives me a message to give to Madara, but I never understand the meaning, it's like they made up their own code."

Deidara tries his best to calm his excitement – he was right on the money with coming here to talk to Obito! He knew something was up!

"So, what kind of things does this Zetsu guy tell you?" Deidara wants to know.

"He says things like, 'tell Madara the operation is going well. Red and turquoise are cracking.' That was the last message he told me," Obito says, looking confused.

Deidara feels a shiver run up his spine. He may have already figured out this encoded message – the ring he wore when involved with Konan's group was turquoise colored, and Itachi's was red.

"What does this man look like?" Deidara asks, eager to find out more information about Zetsu.

"Well, he's extremely pale," Obito says, "sort of has spiky, dirty blonde hair. He goes by Zetsu but I've never seen any identification…and I don't know his last name. Sorry I don't know much about him."

"That's fine, really, you've been a big help un," Deidara says, smiling gratefully.

"So…can you enlighten me? What is going on out there? What is this investigation all about?" Obito asks curiously.

Feeling a little pity for the man, Deidara decides to be honest, "Itachi and I have a stalker, one that might possibly want to kill us."

Obito nods, as though he expected this, "well, good luck."

"You too Obito, play it safe with Madara, don't let him know you talked to me," Deidara says.

"Of course," Obito says before getting up. Deidara waves goodbye, head spinning with all the information he just received. His trip to the prison went much better than he had expected.

…

A few hours later, Deidara is standing on Sasori's doorstep, still unsure of what he should do. He brought a bag of his things to stay the night, but what if Sasori doesn't want him to stay over? Is he imposing?

There's still a sliver of hurt inside Deidara, even though Sasori is his boyfriend now. After everything that happened between them, it's only natural that Deidara should feel this way, right? He gets this strange, twisted feeling that Sasori is just toying with him, and still wants revenge…but that can't be true.

So Deidara finally knocks on the door, his heart hammering in his chest. Sasori is all smiles when he opens, and Deidara sighs in relief.

"Hey there! I didn't know you were coming over. Are you staying the night?" Sasori asks, noticing Deidara's bag.

"Oh, um, if that's okay un," Deidara stammers out.

Sasori nods excitedly, "Yes! I was hoping you would! Come on in."

Deidara walks inside, feeling much better from Sasori's enthusiasm. "Kakashi just came by, he's my new probation officer. Apparently they have cops driving by my place every hour, even at night."

"That's good un. They're doing the same thing at my place, even without me there," Deidara says. "I'm so sorry again, to get you mixed up in this." Deidara slumps on the couch, feeling miserable.

"Deidara, why are you beating yourself up over nothing? This isn't your fault," Sasori says, already by his side, patting Deidara on the back. "You need to relax."

"How can I? I'm so paranoid that something is going to happen to you un! And I'm not even allowed to investigate…although…I sorta did some investigations on my own already…and after I told Jiraiya everything I learned, he said to lay off this matter and leave it all to him!" Deidara complains, venting out all the anger and frustration he's been feeling lately.

"Well, didn't they all tell you to just relax? Don't you trust your fellow officers?" Sasori asks, gently rubbing circles over Deidara's thigh.

"I do un, but it's just in my nature to want to help and get to the bottom of this. I want to find this stalker already and put him behind bars un!" Deidara buries his face in his hands, completely overwhelmed.

"I know how you must feel," Sasori says soothingly, "I want him gone too, especially since he's a threat to your life. But you really should try to relax a bit." Sasori's hand slides a little further up Deidara's thigh, and Deidara yelps in shock.

"Wh-what are you doing un?" Deidara asks, eyes big.

"I'm helping you relax," Sasori says, unbuttoning Deidara's pants with deft fingers.

"Un," Deidara blushes furiously, butterflies dancing in his stomach. Sasori touching him like this is still so new to him.

Sasori pulls Deidara's pants down and palms at Deidara over his underwear. "Wow, you're already getting hard, and so quickly too," Sasori notes.

"B-because it's you touching me," Deidara admits, melting further into the couch as Sasori strokes him from his balls to his tip. Even with the cloth of his underwear in between, it still feels amazing.

Sasori smirks and says, "that's right, just lay back and relax. Let me take care of you." Deidara whimpers a little and nods, allowing Sasori to go further. Sasori brushes his tongue against the skin above Deidara's boxers, and then grazes his teeth over the underwear, pulling them down slowly.

Deidara is already fully erect, which causes Sasori to smirk with pride again. Sasori takes Deidara's dick in one hand and licks all the way up with his tongue, slowly. Deidara blushes, watching Sasori pleasure him like this is almost too much to handle. Sasori looks so damn sexy, with his wet tongue sliding up and down Deidara's dick.

Sasori teases Deidara for a few minutes before finally placing the entire shaft into his mouth, hollowing out his cheeks. Deidara cries out loud, squirming on the couch. Sasori moans as he moves his lips over Deidara's dick, and his hands crawl up under Deidara's shirt. He finds Deidara's nipples and begins to play with them, pinching them between his thumb and forefinger. Deidara wiggles again, and moans loudly at the touch. His skins feels like it's on fire, this redhead has lit up all his sensitive spots.

Sasori bobs his head a little faster, and Deidara's hips begin to move with him, in rhythm. Deidara's entire body buckles forward, as the coil inside him gets closer to letting lose. Finally, his whole body shakes and he moans again as he reaches his climax, pouring everything out into Sasori's mouth. Sasori drinks him dry, not leaving even one drop.

Deidara has never seen Sasori look sexier, with his hair slightly matted against his face, and his lips red and swollen and tantalizingly wet. Deidara is panting fast, unable to tell Sasori how grateful he is for him. Sasori has a look of hunger in his eyes, and he leans forward and grabs Deidara, hugging him close.

"I never thought doing something like that could turn me on so much," Sasori says, "I don't think I'm done with you yet brat."

"That's fine," Deidara says, "I want more too un!"

Instantly, Sasori picks Deidara up and brings him back to his bedroom, where he frantically pulls off his shirt. Deidara lays on the bed, waiting while Sasori strips himself naked. Then Sasori's lips are upon Deidara's again, and it tastes so delicious. Although he just came, Deidara starts to feel himself getting aroused again, already.

Deidara tangles his fingers through Sasori's red hair, pulling on it gently as he deepens the kiss, allowing his tongue to glide along Sasori's. Sasori is thrusting his hips against Deidara's, and Deidara can feel his large, painfully hard erection bumping up against his own growing one.

"Go ahead and prepare me un," Deidara commands, knowing that Sasori will soon need a release.

Sasori smirks, and places three fingers over Deidara's lips. He uses his other hand to wrap a fist over Deidara's dick, and starts pumping. Without a word, Deidara opens his mouth and allows Sasori to slide his fingers inside. Deidara starts sucking on them, coating them with his saliva and moaning seductively. Deidara swirls his tongue around the digits, and sucks them in deeper, causing Sasori to elicit a deep, growl like moan.

Sasori's jerk on Deidara's member becomes a little faster, and he removes his fingers from Deidara's mouth, and places them at Deidara's entrance. He eases one finger in slowly, stretching ever so slightly. Deidara moans again, even just having one of Sasori's fingers inside him makes his head spin and causes his dick to swell again. Sasori notices Deidara's erotic reaction, "Mmm, looks like you're ready for another release brat."

"Danna, please," Deidara begs, through heavy, panted breaths.

Sasori inserts another finger, and pushes in a little deeper. He's close to Deidara's prostate, Deidara can just feel Sasori's fingers barely brushing up against it. "Put the third finger in un," Deidara pleads, hot and flushed. Sasori obliges, jamming the third finger in and eliciting a stifled cry from Deidara at the slight pinch. But then Sasori's fingers find the spot, and cause Deidara to jerk up violently and cry out loud.

Sasori's fingers retreat, and Deidara whines, trembling on Sasori's bed. Sasori quickly opens a bottle of lube and coats his dick with the substance before lining up with Deidara's entrance. Then he pushes inside, causing both of them to moan with pleasure. Sasori pulls out slowly, and then pushes back in, steadily building his pace.

Sasori adjusts Deidara's hips a little, trying to find his prostate again and –

"Ah! Right there Danna!" Deidara cries, arching his neck back.

Sasori hits that spot again, over and over, until Deidara is thrashing about on the bed, as Sasori has his way with him. Deidara starts making more noise, some indistinguishable gibberish along with cries of "harder!" or "oh yes!"

Sasori grabs hold of Deidara's hips to keep steady, as he picks up the pace. Then Deidara yells out, "Danna! Touch me un!"

"You are so demanding, brat," Sasori manages to say, despite his breathlessness. He indulges Deidara's request though, and places one hand up on Deidara's chest, twisting at his nipple with his fingers. Deidara thrashes again and arches his back off the bed, crying out more incomprehensible mutterings.

Then Sasori's hand slides down to Deidara's throbbing dick, which he grabs. He begins to stroke Deidara in rhythm with his own movements, and Deidara's eyes nearly roll back in his head, the pleasure is just so damn good and so overwhelming. His thighs are shaking now, and he's close.

Sasori's thrusts are now erratic and unmeasured, as he too is reaching his climax. Deidara reaches up and grabs Sasori's neck, pulling his face towards it. He bites down on Sasori's sensitive skin, and Sasori makes an animalistic noise. Deidara sucks on Sasori's neck, wanting to mark his Danna. Sasori grabs Deidara's hips and thrusts into him harder, his thighs quaking and his breath husky.

Both reach their orgasm at the same moment, bodies trembling with waves of ecstasy coursing through their veins. Sasori collapses on top of Deidara, completely spent. "Hey un, you're crushing me," Deidara complains jokingly. Sasori laughs and moves over, muttering something about Deidara being a total brat.

The two lay in bed for a few moments, coming down from their ecstasy high. "Thank you Danna," Deidara says, still feeling on cloud 9, "That was exactly what I needed."

"I know," Sasori says smugly, "Now don't get yourself wrapped up in so much stress again. If you have any worries, come to me, and I'll take care of it. I'll do everything in my power to protect you." Just like that, Deidara's qualms that Sasori might just be toying with his feelings are vanquished. He knows that Sasori's feelings are true.

"Okay un," Deidara says, smiling. He isn't quite sure what Sasori can do about his stalker situation, but he appreciates Sasori's support nonetheless.

It feels wonderful to have someone by his side, someone he loves and cares for more than anything else in this world.


	9. Chapter 9

"You know, you could just stay here," Sasori suggests the next morning, trying to wake a sleepy Deidara up with the enticing smell of coffee, "I mean, you're on suspension right? It's not like you have anywhere else to be."

"Gee thanks for reminding me un," Deidara scowls, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"Hm, someone is cranky in the mornings," Sasori mutters.

Deidara turns over and looks up at Sasori, more seriously this time, "I can't impose on you like that un. I should get home and make sure things are okay there."

Sasori gives Deidara an odd look, "Why would you think you're imposing? You're my lover, of course I'd want you to stay here. I wouldn't have offered if I didn't mean it…but if you really don't want to…" his voice trails off quietly and he looks hurt, and Deidara starts to panic.

"No un! I didn't mean it like that!" Deidara sits up and grabs Sasori by the waist, pulling him in for a hug, "I already told you I love you Danna, so of course I want to stay here with you. I just…don't want to be a burden to you."

"How the hell do you think you're a burden?" Sasori asks.

"Well, I have a stalker after me…and if I stay here, I'll definitely be putting you at risk too," Deidara says ashamedly.

Sasori turns Deidara's face up to look at him, "There's cops patrolling the area night and day, I think it's safe to say we'll be okay here. Didn't I tell you to stop worrying? Besides, with you by my side, I know you'll be safe. I want to protect you." Sasori bends forward to kiss Deidara, and something passes between them. It's like a charge of energy – they are opening up to each other more each day, with newfound trust in one another. All the pain from their past together fades away as Sasori kisses Deidara comfortingly, soothing Deidara's worried soul.

"Okay then," Deidara says, giving in, "I'll stay over here for a while. Let me at least go home to get my stuff though un."

"Sure, but first, breakfast," Sasori says excitedly, bouncing up off the bed and rushing to the kitchen. Deidara chuckles, he's never seen Sasori so thrilled to cook before. He'll make a great husband someday.

…

A week goes by in a flash, and Deidara soon forgets all of his troubles. He and Sasori have entered the 'honeymoon' stage of their relationship, due mostly to the fact that they've spent every moment together since Deidara moved in. Of course, Deidara was worried at first about living with Sasori, since that's quite a big step for an early relationship, but things have been working out surprisingly well. After all the petty bickering and fighting they went through over the past few months, it was nice for both of them to bond in an intimate way and truly begin to form a trusting, loving relationship built on respect and loyalty to one another.

Whenever Kakashi comes to do his routine visits on Sasori, Deidara asks him about the investigation. From the sounds of it, they haven't had much luck with tracking down this Zetsu person, and there hasn't been any suspicious activity around Deidara or Sasori's homes. Deidara takes in this information with a grain of salt though, remembering that Itachi got attacked when he least expected it.

But for now, things seem to be alright. Deidara is actually enjoying his time off from the task force, and taking advantage of the ample time he has alone with Sasori. They may never have this much time together again once Deidara starts work back up and Sasori's probation ends.

Sasori and Deidara are lazing on the couch, watching a movie and cuddling on a Friday night when Kakashi comes to visit again. Deidara pauses the movie, insistent on asking Kakashi about Zetsu once more. Before he can say anything, Kakashi hurriedly states, "No leads yet Deidara. Will you relax? With any luck, this stalker guy will get smart and just go away on his own."

"Madara wouldn't ever allow that un," Deidara says, "it's only a matter of time."

"Yes, well, you already know that we are working on the case, so leave it up to us, okay?" Kakashi says, annoyed.

Deidara nods, sitting back on the couch, sighing audibly. It seems like the police are putting this matter to the wayside, and simply waiting for Zetsu to make another move. Kakashi does his quick inspection of the place, and heads back to the doorway. "You two take it easy. Curfew is in an hour."

"Yeah, like I would forget," Sasori says sarcastically.

Kakashi waves goodbye and heads back to his patrol car, wondering to himself if he has time for a snack before getting back to the station. His thoughts are interrupted by a call on his radio, "Officer Kakashi, we need you to respond to a call made on Lincoln High School."

"What's going on over there?" Kakashi asks back into the intercom.

"We've got a bomb threat, and there's a big football game there tonight, the stadium is already packed. We need our best guys over there asap to help evacuate everyone from the premise," Tsunade states.

"Roger," Kakashi says, hopping into his car and turning on his sirens. It looks like his snack will have to wait till later.

…

"Man, I'm hungry," Sasori complains, rubbing his stomach, "do we have anything good to eat?"

Deidara feels a faint surge of happiness at the term 'we.' Although they've lived in the same dwelling for over a week, it still feels surreal to him. He knows it isn't permanent either. Once this stalker is caught, Deidara will have to go back to living by himself again. He's soaking up his time with Sasori though, and trying not to think about that.

"Um," Deidara gets up and searches Sasori's fridge, which is severely under stocked. "There's only some leftover lasagna from two nights ago…"

"Gross, toss that," Sasori replies, pinching his nose at the smell as Deidara throws it in the garbage, "do you think you could do me a big favor?"

"Yeah I know un. I'll go to the grocery store and grab us some food. It's nearly past your curfew, so you can wait here," Deidara says, reading Sasori's mind.

"Thanks Dei," Sasori says, kissing his cheek.

Deidara grabs his wallet and heads for the door. He's stopped before reaching it however, and he turns to see Sasori holding his wrist, as though he has something more to say. "Yes un?" Deidara asks, looking back at the door.

"Deidara, I just want you to know that I love you," Sasori says.

Deidara stares back at him, jaw dropped and heart about to burst. Deidara's been waiting for Sasori to say those words, unsure of whether or not Sasori would even say it. He has no idea what prompted Sasori to tell him this now, or how long Sasori's known, but a newfound feeling washes over him and there's something warm and fuzzy dancing around inside him, and his body feels light, like all the weight of every worry from his past was just lifted off his shoulders.

Deidara rushes forward and kisses Sasori full on the mouth, a sloppy and somewhat overzealous kiss. Sasori chuckles, "You're making this a big deal. Didn't you already know how I felt about you?"

"No un! You never said that to me before," Deidara says, still holding Sasori tight.

"Well, I felt like saying it now," Sasori says, as though it was that simple. Deidara, overcome with joy and head over heels in love, kisses Sasori again. Sasori smiles into the kiss but breaks it off before it leads to something else, "we can do that later," he whispers, "but I really am getting quite hungry."

"Right, un, I know," Deidara says, stepping back a few paces, "I'll get us some food and then we can have a romantic dinner together!" He rushes out the door, with Sasori teasingly rolling his eyes at him.

But when Deidara leaves, Sasori busies himself with finding some candles and a lighter, eager to surprise his boyfriend with a true romantic setting for their dinner.

…

Deidara makes a quick shopping excursion, buying all of Sasori's favorite foods at the grocery store and adding in a few of his own favorites. His hands are full with grocery bags, stuffing his car with groceries while he hums a silly little tune to himself. He's so preoccupied with thoughts of Sasori and making a romantic dinner for the two of them, that he barely registers the formidable stranger drawing close. By the time he does notice him, the stranger is already upon Deidara, merely inches away, gun drawn.

Deidara sneers, fumbling in his own pockets for his gun. He realizes with panic that he's been stripped of his gun and his badge, since he's on suspension. All he can do is reach for his cell phone, which he pulls out in a flash.

The stranger is smirking at him, gun hidden beneath layers of his thick cloak. "Hello there Deidara. Let's go for a drive," he says in a deep, raspy voice.

Deidara frantically tries to dial 911, but the stranger notices and grasps the phone from him roughly. "Tsk, I wouldn't want you to call up your friends. That's what got in the way with Itachi, and I won't let the same mistake happen twice. Now get in the car, and drive home. I'll be a good passenger, I promise."

Deidara knows better than to fight back at this point. He'll have to play calm, and find the right opportunity to surprise this person, who he is pretty sure is Zetsu. The man is exactly as Obito described him. He tries to hide his face beneath a hood, but the musk of light brown spiky hair is clear and he's pale, almost as pale as a ghost. He thrusts the butt of the gun forward and Deidara gets moving, towards the driver's seat. Zetsu scurries into the passenger seat, gun still directed at Deidara, never faltering.

Deidara and Zetsu drive in silence, Zetsu glaring at him the whole time. Deidara drives as slow as he can, mind racing. He has to get out of this situation somehow…so he waits, bides his time for a distraction.

Zetsu interrupts his line of thought, "If you so much as _try_ to take advantage of this situation, I won't hesitate to kill you immediately."

Deidara grits his teeth, hands gripping so hard on the steering wheel his knuckles go white. Perhaps he should just crash the car? He might die alongside Zetsu, but at least this nightmare would be over…

"Oh, and another thing," Zetsu says with a snarl, "I have my accomplice eyeing a certain redheaded friend of yours. If you don't cooperate with me, if you try to get the upper hand, I will call my accomplice and end his life."

That stops all of Deidara's planning and he nearly slams on the brakes. His breathing becomes short and shallow, and his fingers are visibly trembling against the steering wheel. He knows that begging with Zetsu for Sasori's life is pointless.

He's been caught in a hopeless trap. If Sasori's life is truly on the line, then he'll cooperate, he won't even hesitate to do anything that Zetsu asks of him.

Hot anger surges through his veins, "What are you going to do to him? Even if I do cooperate with you, are you going to kill him?"

"That remains to be seen. You see, Madara isn't particularly mad at him, but I tend to get easily provoked…if you make me upset, I might act out," Zetsu's teeth curve upwards in an evil smile, and Deidara holds back a slew of curses. He feels feint, and sick at the same time. He feels like he's running through a narrow tunnel, with no way out. The light ahead is becoming slimmer and slimmer, and slowly fading away.

Is this his end?

If so, at least Sasori knows that he loves him. It's the only comforting thought in his mind, and it helps him to keep driving ahead, towards his impending doom.

/

Sasori still felt elated for several minutes after confessing his love to Deidara. It was the first time that Sasori's ever told anyone he loved them. And he meant it, too.

Perhaps it was the way Deidara looked right before he was about to head out the door, or the way that Deidara already knew what Sasori wanted without having to ask...whatever it was, something sparked inside of Sasori and the words had sort of just tumbled out. But he's glad he said it, finally. Those three little words were always difficult for Sasori to say, but it had felt natural telling Deidara. And that look that Deidara gave him in response - it made Sasori fall madly in love with him all over again.

Naturally, Sasori wanted to prepare the perfect ambience for a romantic dinner. He had found some old candles in his closet that he set up at the table, so all that was left was to find the damn lighter.

Sasori was digging through his drawers looking for his lighter when he noticed it. A tiny sliver of a shadow by the window, very slight, but it still caught his attention.

He slowly closes his drawer, then walks casually to the window, as if he's simply lost in thought. But he's sure what he saw – it was a masked man, clad in a skin tight black suit, just like how Itachi described his attacker.

Sasori rushes to grab the baseball bat under his bed and then he is at the door, looking through the peep hole, his suspicions confirmed. The masked man, presumably Zetsu, is standing there, ready to knock. Sasori steps back and lets him wrap three times on the door, sharp and loud.

With trembling fingers, Sasori opens the door a crack, and asks, "Who is it?"

The door is pushed in forcefully by Zetsu, who holds out a gun. Sasori hides the baseball bat behind his body, feigning complete surprise. "What do you want?"

"I'm here to simply keep an eye on you," Zetsu seethes, jutting his gun jabbing forward as he slams the door closed behind him, "to make sure things go well for my companion."

Sasori's mind is racing a mile a minute, "companion? What are you talking about?"

"Just be a good boy and sit still, and you can go free in an hour or so, just so long as your blonde friend follows my accomplice's directions. You have nothing to fear," Zetsu explains.

Sasori's heart drops several stories, and panic sweeps up through his body, clouding his judgment and hiding his fear. Before he has time to think of a plan, before Zetsu can even take a breath, he whacks him on the head with his bat, as hard as he can.

The action surprised Sasori as much as Zetsu. But the hit was hard, and effective. Zetsu sways on the spot for a split second before tumbling to the ground like a chopped tree. Sasori winces at the loud thud of his body smashing to the floor. What's done is done though, Sasori can't just sit here and worry about it. He has to take action.

Sasori hops over the unconscious body and pulls out his cell phone while simultaneously grabbing his keys. He pounds the number into his phone and rushes out the door, not caring that it's past his curfew and not thinking about the consequences of his actions. His mind is set. He's going to save Deidara.

"Hello, 911 operator, what's your emergency?" says a calm voice on the other line.

Sasori frantically explains the situation as best as he can, emphasizing that officer Jiraiya or Kakashi should come to Deidara's house. Then he's on the road, driving faster than most would ever dare – dashing past other vehicles and running through yellow and even some red lights.

All Sasori can think is one recurring thought – please let Deidara be safe.

He hopes he can make it in time.


	10. Chapter 10

It's truly terrifying being at the opposite end of a gun. Although Deidara's had countless hours of training with various weapons pointed in his direction, he's always had the upper hand. In training, he has partners as well as arsenal for himself, and the ability to call for more back-up if needed. But now in his current situation, he is all alone with no weapon, no cell phone, no way out.

Shaking fingers unlock the front door slowly, as he begs for anyone, someone, to walk out into the night and see this stranger behind him. But for some odd reason, the officers patrolling the area don't seem to be out at the moment. Did Zetsu plan this entire scheme down to the minute? Are they on a time crunch here before the next set of cop cars come patrolling through the neighborhood?

Deidara has no idea. All he knows is that he is utterly alone, and his neighbors are all snug inside their homes, not a single soul is out for a walk tonight.

"Hurry up you shithead," Zetsu seethes, noticing how long Deidara is taking with his keys.

Finally, Deidara swings the door open, hesitating to walk inside. He shuffles across the threshold with death looming down his back. The very floor seems to shake beneath his feet. His vision is beginning to blur, he's so afraid.

But he's already resolved not to take action. If he does, Sasori will surely meet his demise. Deidara can't allow that. So he walks forward, like an inmate on death row, his household seeming like a large stretch towards the gallows.

At the sound of the door closing behind Zetsu, Deidara instantly falls to his knees, completely weakened and hopeless. Tears of pure terror slide down his cheeks – but he isn't crying for himself. His heart is heavy with sorrow for Sasori, for he has no idea if Zetsu will be good on his word to let him live.

"Get up you swine," Zetsu barks at him harshly, kicking his thigh.

Deidara stands upright with a surprising amount of courage left in him. If he has to go down, then he might as well do it with some dignity.

"I've followed all your orders," Deidara states, trying to sound in control despite his gnawing, gut wrenching dread, "So please, don't harm Sasori. That's my one last wish un."

"Shut the hell up," Zetsu spits back, "You don't get to make last wishes. You're the reason Madara, my leader, is in prison. Not only does he want you to die, but he wants you to be humiliated in death. Now, we're going to walk together to find some paper and a pen."

"Un?" Deidara is startled for just a moment, before realization dawns on him, "are you going to make me write a suicide note? No one is going to buy that hm."

"I told you to shut the fuck up! If you don't zip it and do as I say, I'll start taking off some fingers or toes. It'll surely be damned hard to write with a couple fingers missing!"

Deidara turns pale and nods hysterically before rushing to find a pen and paper. Once he locates the aforementioned objects, he sits at his couch and places the paper on the coffee table in front of him, waiting for further instructions.

"Now," Zetsu clears his throat, then jabs the gun at Deidara's temple, "this is going to be a suicide note, but you must write everything down exactly as I say."

"O-Okay," Deidara says tentatively.

"To whoever finds this note, I am gravely sorry for my actions, but I felt it was necessary to end my own life," Zetsu starts. Deidara holds his tongue – this manner of speech is very unlike his own, and anyone who knows him will be able to tell in a split second that this letter was forced. He sighs a tiny exhale of relief, this note will surely prove that his death wasn't a suicide.

"My grief may come as a surprise to some, but it has always been present, ever since I was a young boy. I hated myself for disliking women and only finding men attractive – "

Deidara stops writing and turns to look at Zetsu ludicrously, forgetting that he's supposed to stay quiet, "What the fuck!? Is Madara really that homophobic?"

Zetsu slaps Deidara across the face, drawing blood at the corner of his lip. Deidara writes down the insane sentence, now sure that any person will be able to tell that this letter is indeed trash.

Zetsu forces him to write down other nonsensical lies, and Deidara has to resist the urge to vomit. This suicide note makes Deidara sound like a horrible, heinous man who hated both himself and others. It's such a drastic alteration of what the real Deidara would say, that he almost feels bad for Madara. What kind of a sick mind would say these things? Has Madara really grown up in a world of hate, devoid of all love? But Deidara can never bring himself to forgive Madara for doing this to him and Sasori. He secretly hopes there's a special place in hell for Madara.

When Deidara nears the end of the note, Zetsu instructs, "I'd like to reach out to my partner Sasori, and be truthful. I never loved you, I was merely using you from the moment I met you and – "

"No," Deidara looks up firmly, with bold and angered eyes directed at Zetsu. His pen is placed by the paper, and he crosses his arms. So what if he lost a finger or two before death? He is going to die anyways, it's not like it would hurt for too long.

"What do you mean no?" Zetsu's temple is pulsing and he leans in forward towards Deidara menacingly. Deidara doesn't even wince.

"I mean, I refuse to write that bullshit. I love Sasori, and I won't even betray that love on a written piece of garbage un," Deidara explains, arms still firmly crossed.

"You're a complete moron, how would you like to lose a toe?" Zetsu asks.

"Do your worst," Deidara challenges.

A wicked, devilish smile curves upon Zetsu's face. "You don't truly care about something like losing a finger, do you?"

Deidara doesn't answer, he simply continues to stare into those demon eyes, confronting his attacker with the last bit of bravery in his system.

"But I bet what you _do_ care about is this lovely, soft blonde hair, am I right?" Zetsu takes a handful of Deidara's hair in his hand, not gently.

He tugs on it, making Deidara's scalp prickle, "Ow!"

"Let's see how you deal with this!" Zetsu cries maniacally before taking out his pocket knife and cutting into the flesh of Deidara's scalp, cutting both hair and skin in the process.

"Ah! No! Stop!" Deidara's vision dances wildly from the pain of having his skin nearly scalped off. Zetsu pulls out a chunk of Deidara's blonde hair, no doubt leaving a sizeable bleeding bald spot behind. Deidara's eyes are watering and he feels like he might actually throw up. His head is throbbing something dreadful and warm, sticky blood is oozing down the side of his face slowly, like some dark, twisted foreshadowing of what's soon to come.

So Deidara caves. He caves and writes the stupid, horrible, hateful line that he never loved Sasori. He does it with tears of anger streaming down his cheeks and with the constant pulsing pain in his head.

He does it because he's broken. Zetsu finally bent him over to a point where he can't recover, can't fix this anymore. He finishes the suicide note and leans back into the couch, shaking all over. He gingerly touches his scalp and then looks at the dabs of blood on his hand. If he were to live, this scar would be with him forever. His hair would probably never look the same.

"Good boy," Zetsu praises him mockingly. "Now, get up and walk back to the front door."

Deidara complies, his senses numb and his world crashing around him. Zetsu commands him to stop before the door and turn around. Deidara does so, and is met with the barrel of Zetsu's gun, pointed directly at his face, not even an inch away.

"Any last words?" Zetsu sneers, actually smiling despite the fact that he's about to murder someone in cold blood.

"You and Madara can go to hell," Deidara says. Everything is quivering still, and he shuts his eyes, not wishing to see what inevitably will happen next.

Deidara waits for the sound of the gunshot. It's odd, but his ears are hearing everything right now, the acuity of his hearing must have raised a few frequencies due to the heart pounding anticipation of death. The noises seem to come in slow motion, filling his world with an array of sounds. He can hear the soft ticking of a clock on the wall, the hollow drum of the air conditioner, the buzzing of the light overhead and then – the click of the safety on the gun, and the slow pull of the trigger – but the sound is mixed and muffled with something else. Could Deidara's ears be playing tricks on him? Or did he seriously hear the door open behind him?

Deidara feels the cool night breeze behind him for a split second before he's on the ground quite suddenly, ears ringing from the gunfire.

But he's alive.

And there's something heavy on top of him, pressing him hard into the ground.

He opens his eyes and sees red. But it isn't blood. It's the beautiful, rich auburn of Sasori's hair.

"What the hell?!" Zetsu is bewildered, still holding the gun up. He shot through the front door and into the crisp night, barely missing Deidara as he was plunged to the ground by Sasori it would seem.

"S-Sasori!" Deidara feels feint and clammy, being so close to death knocked the wind out of him.

"Stay down," Sasori breathes before pulling out a gun of his own and pointing it at Zetsu.

"Where did you get a gun!?" Deidara cries, staggered by the turn of events.

Zetsu barks out an evil laugh, "oh, this is rich! So you've come to save your gay lover, is that it?"

"Yes," Sasori's eyes are cold, Deidara has never seen this much hatred in him before, "That's exactly right." He clicks back the lock on the gun, fully ready to kill this man before him.

But Deidara can't allow him to do that. Deidara pulls down on Sasori's wrist, alarming him. "Deidara, this man tried to kill you!"

"Don't do it! You'll be sent to prison un!" Deidara pleads, hanging on to Sasori's arm and tugging with all his strength. When did Sasori become so strong? How is he resisting this, and still able to point that gun at Zetsu?

Zetsu continues to laugh at them like a madman, sending a chill up Deidara's spine. "Now I have the both of you here, this is too much. Madara will surely make me his second in command once he hears about your deaths!"

"Run," Deidara commands. A surge of adrenaline courses through his veins, allowing him to practically grab Sasori off the ground and take off full speed out the door and down the street.

The gun fires behind them, and Sasori soon gets his footing, panting besides Deidara, the two holding hands and sprinting as fast as they can. Sasori keeps looking back, trying to aim his own pistol at Zetsu.

"It's no use! You won't hit a moving target so easily un!" Deidara tells him, "Just follow my lead!"

Deidara turns past a house and shoves Sasori into a bush, hiding the two of them in the thicket of green grass and leaves. "Stay extremely quiet," Deidara whispers, "did you already call the cops?"

"Yeah, they should be here by now," Sasori replies, "I wonder what's taking them so long."

"Shh, here he comes," Deidara shushes and crouches lower, staying absolutely still.

Zetsu's shadow emerges in front of him as he scourges each nook and cranny, trying not to alert the attention of the neighbors. But it's too late – the neighbors surely heard the gunfire already, and Deidara knows that several of them are probably on their phones right now, calling the police and peeking out the window.

They just have to hide and bide their time until the sirens finally appear. That's what Deidara thinks, anyways.

But it seems like Sasori has another plan.

"What are you doing?" Deidara manages to angry whisper through his teeth.

Sasori is thrashing beside him, pulling his gun out and trying to point it out of the bushes towards Zetsu. Deidara is holding his arm back, struggling. "I told you to stay still," Deidara murmurs, trying not to make too much noise.

"If he can't find - us, he's going – to get – away – again," Sasori says while scuffling about in the bush, trying to get the upper hand and get out.

Before Deidara can protest, Sasori finally takes control and stands up, gun directed towards Zetsu.

"Ah," Zetsu sighs, "There you are. I was beginning to think my search would be futile, and that I would have to return home a failure."

"I won't let you get away," Sasori rages. Deidara realizes a beat too late that Sasori's judgment is completely clouded by hatred, and he's trying too hard to play the hero. He's going to get hurt.

Before either can make a move though, the feint sound of sirens can be heard off in the distance, sounding like miracle bells to Deidara. Unfortunately, Zetsu takes this as his cue to leave.

Zetsu shoots frantically at Sasori, missing him by half an inch, and then takes off running. Sasori doesn't miss a beat, he jumps into action and lunges his body forwards, eyes red with vengeance. He pushes all of his weight onto Zetsu, knocking them both to the ground, Deidara watching with shock, eyes nearly popping out of his head. The entire scene happened so fast, Deidara didn't have a chance to stop Sasori.

Sasori and Zetsu are now thrashing around in the middle of the road, the sirens are growing louder and louder and Zetsu is trying to turn his gun hand towards Sasori. Fear instills inside Deidara, and he acts without a second thought – he rushes for Zetsu and steps on his gun hand, causing Zetsu to cry out with pain, in a shrill and angered tone. He lets go of the gun and Deidara snatches it up, pointing it towards Zetsu.

Red and blue flashes are finally upon them, there's three cars pulling in, circling the three of them. Zetsu stops flailing, seeing defeat. Sasori gets up too, panting hard and looking pale, as though all of his crazy actions finally caught up with him.

….

The next hour or so is a blur of cops interrogating Zetsu, Sasori and Deidara. Deidara speaks in length with Kakashi, who apologizes profusely for their late arrival.

"It seems like the bomb threat on the high school was a diversion set up by this guy, that way he could get to you Deidara," Kakashi concludes.

Zetsu is already sitting in the backseat of a police car, hands cuffed behind his back. Another cop is already at Sasori's house, cuffing his partner in crime.

"Now, let's get you home Sasori," Kakashi says, turning towards the redhead. "Deidara, you'll need some stitches, I think it's best if you retire to the hospital now, officer Iruka can drive you."

"Will Sasori be okay un?" Deidara asks, a pleading look on his face. He's been holding a rag up to his head, which is still throbbing and bleeding some.

"Well…he did break his probation…but," Kakashi pauses, mulling things over.

"But what un?"

"But, he did help save you. Without him, you would most likely be dead. I think I can work something out in his favor, don't you worry Deidara," Kakashi says. Sasori beams at Deidara and Deidara nearly feints with happiness.

"Now, get going," Kakashi orders, shoving Deidara in the direction towards officer Iruka's vehicle.

"Yeah, one second," Deidara leans in and kisses Sasori quickly on the mouth, trying to tell him how grateful he is with this one simple gesture. His heart yearns to do more, to hug him close and never let this crazy redhead out of his sight – but he breaks the kiss with a sigh, smiles, and makes his way towards Iruka.

Sasori saved Deidara tonight, there's no denying it. Deidara has never felt so loved in his life before.

He makes a promise to himself to someday marry that man.

...

 **Author's Note:** Sorry this took me a while to write up, been busy with life/work and blah haha. Anyways, as I've said before, I'm not the best with writing drama/action, but I hope this chapter was okay! Thanks for sticking through the story till the end, I think the next chapter will be the last! They finally caught this Zetsu person, more info about him will come in the next chapter. Thanks so much everyone for reading and reviewing!


	11. Chapter 11

The two men who attacked Sasori and Deidara that night are now in prison. It turns out that this 'Zetsu' was just a code name – the real perpetrators were followers of Madara, who's been placed in solitary confinement and given extra time on his sentence. Obito's sentence has been reduced, since he helped Deidara out with information. The followers were twins by the names of Zeke and Tunga, and this used this secret to their advantage. Tunga was supposed to keep Sasori at home and threatened while Zeke killed Deidara, but neither suspected that Sasori would interfere the way he did. They had called in a bomb threat to a nearby school, knowing that this would keep the police busy during the time that they set out to take out Deidara.

Things started to slowly return to normal after that incident. Deidara was soon able to work again, and his head wound wasn't as serious as he had originally thought. He wore a bandage for a little while, but his scalp is now fine and his hair has even begun to grow back. He simply puts his hair in different styles to hide the un-matching lengths.

As Kakashi promised, Sasori wasn't punished for breaking his probation that night. Kakashi slid that fact under the rug, hiding it from the higher ups and making it seem like Sasori wasn't ever directly involved. Sasori's life went back to the usual – following his probation rules and keeping his nose to the grindstone, finishing up his schoolwork.

The school semester went by quickly, and Sasori worked hard to finish all his classes with As. His art teacher, Kurenai, was so impressed with his abilities that she wrote letters of recommendation to hand to potential employers. Sasori's future suddenly looks bright again, despite his minor criminal activity. He's hopeful that he'll still be able to pursue his dream of becoming an art teacher.

Graduation day finally approaches for Sasori. Since it's a big deal, he's even allowed to stay out later that night, he was given special permission by Kakashi.

Deidara sits in the big crowd alongside Sasori's parents and grandmother, who he was finally able to meet a few weeks prior. His parents took an instant liking to him, especially when they found out that he's a police officer. Per his parents wish, Deidara promised to them to keep Sasori in line, and to never allow him to stray down the wrong path again. Of course, Deidara knows in his heart that Sasori's days of criminal activity are long over.

The ceremony begins, with the president of the school and the deans giving their speeches and then welcoming the valedictorian to the stage. Deidara dozes off a little, waiting until Sasori's name is called. When they finally call Sasori to the stage, Deidara cheers and whistles louder than any other family member in the room, and he could swear he saw Sasori make a face.

…..

"Sasori, now that you've graduated, what's next un?" Deidara asks him, sipping on his drink. They are out for dinner after Sasori's graduation. Sasori's parents perk their ears up, eager to listen to his response.

"Well, Kurenai set up a few interviews for me actually," Sasori replies, looking happy.

"That's wonderful un!" Deidara says, he forgets for a moment that they're in the presence of his family and he gives Sasori a big, mushy hug. Sasori turns red and Deidara backs off a little, not wanting to be too affectionate in front of his prude and stubborn-headed grandmother.

"What schools are you interviewing at?" Sasori's mother asks curiously.

Sasori lists a few of the schools out, and Deidara realizes that they are all within the area, but a bit of a drive from where Sasori lives. In fact, a few of the schools are an hour or so away, and Deidara begins to wonder if Sasori is planning on moving away. His parents beat him to his question, "Won't you have to move son?" Sasori's dad asks.

Sasori shrugs, and glances over at Deidara quickly, "Well, we'll see how the interview goes first…but yeah, I'll probably have to move."

"Well, that's still great," Sasori's mom says, "We can help you with getting up on your feet until you earn enough money on your own."

"Yes," Chiyo pipes up, surprising everyone, "I think that would be a great idea." She pats Sasori on the back, giving him a genuine congratulation. It seems that she's finally realized the true potential and determination in her grandson.

Sasori's family smiles warmly, everything is coming in place for him, and he's got a bright future ahead. For a moment, Deidara feels like he's out of the loop, as though he's intruding their family time and watching from the outside. He wonders if Sasori has included him in his long term plans?

He tries not to get too upset about it now. If Sasori's job requires him to move away, then they can always date long distance, right? Plenty of couples do it, so it should be no big deal. Besides, there's no way Deidara can ask Sasori to stay back, not when his dreams are within his grasp.

So Deidara smiles and drinks his champagne, deciding to celebrate Sasori's success today, and not think about his selfish thoughts. No matter what happens to Sasori, Deidara will always love him. Even if Sasori decides to someday let Deidara go, then Deidara won't refuse.

There's no way he can say no to the person who saved him, both physically and emotionally. He'll forever be indebted to Sasori.

/

Sasori noticed instantly how Deidara's affect changed in the restaurant. He's pretty sure he knows why, but there was no way he could tell Deidara in front of his family what his true plans are. Now that he's said goodbye to his family, and watched them head home, he finally has some alone time with Deidara.

He closes the door to his tiny townhome and takes a good look at Deidara. His cheeks are slightly flushed from the champagne, and all his blonde hair is pulled up in a neat ponytail, covering the last few scars on his head from that horrible night.

If Deidara had died that night, Sasori truly doesn't know what he would have done. He was compelled that evening to save Deidara, to risk everything and put his own life on the line. It would've been worth it if he had to die to save this man before him – the fact that everything worked out the way it did is short of a miracle.

Sasori is overcome with emotions for Deidara suddenly, and he has to take a seat on the couch to calm down. Deidara is the one and only person in his life who has ever made him feel like this – in fact, Deidara has sent him through a roller coaster of all types of emotions, both good and bad. But Sasori wouldn't trade it for the world.

"What's wrong un?" Deidara asks, instantly at his side, as always.

"I was just thinking about how much I love you," Sasori admits honestly, looking Deidara in the eyes.

Deidara blanches, shocked by his response. "Wh-what are you saying un? You're never this…mushy."

Sasori pulls Deidara in for a hug, "I wanted to tell you for a while now that I have some interviews, sorry I never mentioned it before."

"I understand," Deidara says into Sasori's chest, "It seems like you'll be moving at least a few miles away, so I get why you wouldn't want to tell me."

"It isn't like that though," Sasori says, and Deidara pulls away from his embrace, confused. "I was nervous to tell you because…I want to ask you something big."

"What is it un?"

"Will you move with me?" Sasori splutters the words out fast, although he had wanted to have a better delivery. But now it's out in the open, and there's no taking it back.

Deidara's eyes are wide, and Sasori continues, "I understand if you don't want to, I mean, I know it's asking a lot. You've already got a good job here, but I did ask officer Kakashi about other options, and he says that the town I might move to has a need for good cops. When you lived here for those few weeks while you were being stalked…I know it sounds crazy, but it was the best time of my life. It was wonderful having the person I love stay here with me, it was all new, but it was all good."

Deidara surprises Sasori by pulling him in for another hug, this time with tears in his eyes. Deidara always seems to get overly emotional about these types of things, but Sasori didn't expect him to cry for this. He waits for Deidara to respond. "Yes un! Of course I'll move with you!"

Sasori sighs a heave of relief. He had been wanting to ask Deidara for several days now, but couldn't ever find the right time. "Are you sure? You're ok with possibly finding a new job for me?"

Deidara squeezes Sasori harder, "of course un. I've been looking for a change of scenery anyways. I'll miss Jiraiya and Kakashi, but I'm sure I'll see them around un. I'll go wherever you go Sasori!"

Sasori, overcome with joy again, brings Deidara's face up to his and kisses him, hard. He didn't mean to make this a reason to get in Deidara's pants, but he gets so easily aroused when Deidara says such cute things. He pushes Deidara into the couch and begins making out with him, fingers hungrily grasping at Deidara's clothes, making his intentions clear.

"Wait un," Deidara stops for a moment to look at Sasori.

"What? You don't want to?" Sasori asks. Perhaps Deidara had too much to drink?

"No, um, it's just that…I have a surprise for you," Deidara says, completely red in the face. Sasori is perplexed, but he gets off of Deidara and lets him get off the couch. "Stay right there, I'll be right back," Deidara says while sprinting off towards Sasori's bedroom.

When Deidara reemerges, Sasori's jaw drops open.

Deidara is blushing from head to toe, and he's wearing the most adorable expression. He's dressed in one of his Naruko outfits, a mini skirt and a tight fitting blouse, one that would certainly push up on a female's breasts, but on Deidara, lays loosely around his chest. He's even wearing knee high socks to go with the sexy outfit, and Sasori's mouth actually waters.

"…" Sasori can't think of what to say.

"Stop drooling, un," Deidara says, abashed, "I remember you saying a while ago that you would like it if I wore one of these stupid skirts again…I don't really get it, but this is your special graduation gift. But it's a onetime deal okay! So don't get too excited!"

"Deidara," Sasori stands up and walks carefully over to his flawless, beautiful boyfriend, "This is perfect. I do hope you know I'm going to ravage it though."

"Good," Deidara says, "that way I don't ever have to wear it again."

Sasori smirks and picks Deidara up in his arms with adrenaline induced strength and carries him to the bed. Deidara squirms, surprised by this sudden move, trying to get down. "I'm not a child, you don't need to carry me un!"

"Hush," Sasori quiets Deidara by kissing his lips, hard and throwing him onto bed. He feels up Deidara's leg, and startles when his fingers touch lace. "Are you wearing woman's underwear?!"

Deidara turns his head to the side, but his blush is still clear, "Yes un. I-I thought if we I'm going to dress up, I should do it right."

Sasori's head spins for a moment as he looks onto his wild, kinky boyfriend. He leans down and kisses Deidara's neck hungrily, relishing the sound of Deidara's moans. His hand slides further up Deidara's skirt, yanking at the panties. He palms at Deidara's crotch over the material, feeling Deidara's hardness, which is growing at an alarming rate. "You won't admit it, but this is turning you on just as much as it is me," Sasori says.

Deidara whines a little as Sasori's fingers slide under the panties, reaching for his entrance. Sasori licks a finger and then inserts it in, still not taking the panties off of Deidara. "A-aren't you going to take my outfit off?" Deidara asks, yelping in surprise as Sasori inserts another finger.

"Nope. This is my gift right? I want to do you with you still wearing this cute skirt and these lace panties," Sasori licks his lips in anticipation and Deidara rolls his eyes, but doesn't protest.

After thoroughly preparing Deidara, Sasori pulls his own pants down to his knees and bends over Deidara to nip at his neck again. Deidara squirms beneath him, rocking his hips upwards and wrapping his legs around his partner. "J-just stick in already un," Deidara moans.

Sasori stops his biting and looks down at Deidara, "Are you that impatient?" He loves to tease him, especially when he's like this – hot and flustered and sex crazed. Deidara's hips jerk upwards again in response, and he whimpers a little. Sasori has to practice self restraint whenever he's around Deidara.

"What's taking you un?" Deidara asks impatiently.

"I was just thinking how far we've come since the last time I saw you in a skirt," Sasori says while lining up his member with Deidara's wet entrance. He's pulled the panties to the side to leave a space for him to enter – the material is pressing hard against Deidara's throbbing cock, and the sight is almost too much for Sasori to handle.

"Well, of course un, you thought I was a girl back th—!" Deidara gasps in surprise mid sentence as Sasori, finally, enters inside him.

"And look how the tables have turned now," Sasori comments, "everything turned out even better than I could have imagined."

Deidara gives him a contorted sort of smile, "That's sweet and all, but, can you save the sappy talk for later un? Hurry and move!"

Sasori doesn't keep his lover waiting another minute longer, he pulls out and then thrusts in hard, making both of them see starts for a moment. Then he finds a steady rhythm, pushing in and out and panting for all he's worth as he watches the absolute sex bomb thrash about on the bed below him.

It doesn't take long for them both to reach climax, and Sasori lies down in a heap beside Deidara. "You sure you don't want to wear this again? I think you secretly liked it, I mean, the evidence is right there in those panties."

"Danna!" Deidara cries, embarrassed. Sasori smirks to himself, noting that he didn't say 'no' to his offer.

Sasori finds Deidara's hand and holds it gently, lifting it up to kiss his knuckles. Now that they've finished with their sexual activities, his mind is racing again with all that's happened since he first met Deidara. Boy has his life changed since that time.

"So, you're really, truly okay with moving with me? You really want to live with me?" Sasori asks again, a little skeptical.

"Yes un. I told you I'll go wherever you go," Deidara says confidently. "I'll forever be in your debt for saving me from Madara's crazy followers."

"Well, it was repayment for the time you saved me from Madara. I mean, you jumped in front of a bullet for me. Not many people would do that sort of thing," Sasori says, recalling that time months ago when Madara and Obito had kidnapped Sasori.

"Well, I thought you brushed that off as me doing my job as an officer," Deidara reminds him.

"Hm, that was just my excuse when I was still mad at you," Sasori says honestly, "but now I see that you really love me."

"I do un," Deidara says, kissing Sasori's forehead, "just do me a favor, ok?"

"What's that?"

"Don't ever get so pissed at me again," Deidara says, half jokingly.

"Alright," Sasori agrees, "as long as you don't pretend to ever be someone else around me."

"Sure," Deidara nods, "as if I could ever be anyone else though, you know me through and through now."

"Hm, I find that you still have some hidden surprises though, like with this," Sasori indicates Deidara's get up, and he blushes again.

"Shut up," Deidara says, flustered. Sasori pulls him in and hugs him tight, sometimes he's just too adorable to handle.

The two stay entwined on the bed for longer than usual. Perhaps it's because, for the first time ever in their relationship, they're free of danger and worry. In a few more months when Sasori's probation ends, they'll be free of all their chains, and ready to take the next step. They know each other now, and they're ready for a fresh start together. Their lives are now connected, there's a mutual, unspoken understanding between the two of them that their relationship will last for a lifetime. Their love is forever, and their bond is now stronger than before.

Life's already thrown some heavy curveballs their way, with Madara and then his supporters trying to either kidnap or kill them. Together, they can face anything. The future itself may be unknown, but there's one thing for sure – they'll always stay by each other's sides.

...

 **Author's Note:** Thank you all for reading and reviewing! I truly appreciate all the support that this short story and the 1st book got! I hope you all liked the ending, I guess I may have gone a little overboard with the happy/fluffy/smutty ending haha but I'd much rather have a happy ending than a sad one because I'm a hopeless romantic- especially when it comes to these two! Anyways, Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight~ ;)


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